Adoration of the Name of God by angels or The Glory (sketch for the choir vault in the Basilica of El Pilar in Zaragoza)

This is the sketch or modello that Goya created in late 1771 and early 1772 for the fresco decoration of the vault of the Virgin’s chapel in the Basilica del Pilar in Zaragoza, which would become the Aragonese painter’s first major work. The work offered him the opportunity to demonstrate his artistic capabilities and to achieve success in his hometown. It reflects a late Baroque and Rococo style and aesthetic that Goya had absorbed during his training in Spain and his time in Italy.

He arranged angels, musicians, and singers praising the glory of God atop various banks of clouds. One can appreciate the magnificent sense of spatial depth that Goya achieves through the use of light and subtle chiaroscuro effects. The sketch reveals some pentimenti, or corrections; Goya made these adjustments by removing some figures of young angelic youths in order to lighten the composition.

The execution is very fluid, with light impasto and touches of light on the garments, just as he had learned from Francisco Bayeu and studied in Giaquinto’s sketches. Goya demonstrated greater subtlety, with more nuanced rendering of form and light in the sketch than in the final fresco.