In the later 1670s, Maratti designed a series of mosaics for a space in the left nave of Saint Peter's Basilica in Rome. It consists of biblical patriarchs, prophets, and heroines in six half-lunettes and four pendentives along with Saint John's vision of the Immaculate Conception in the surmounting cupola. This is a study for the Jael Slaying Sisera mosaic. Sisera, a Canaanite general and enemy of the Israelites, had sought refuge in the tent of Jael after his defeat on the battlefield, mistakenly believing her to be an ally. Plying Sisera with food and drink and inducing him to sleep, Jael hammered a tent peg into his skull, nailing him to the ground. This noble act earned Jael a place among the heroines of ancient Israel. Maratti's drawing shows her holding the tent peg and hammer, poised to perform her grisly yet heroic deed.
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Medium:Red chalk, highlighted with white chalk, on blue paper
Dimensions:sheet: 8 3/4 x 10 11/16 in. (22.3 x 27.2 cm)
Classification:Drawings
Credit Line:Harris Brisbane Dick Fund, 1936
Accession Number:36.101.2
John, Lord Northwick (British); his sale, Sotheby's, London, November 1–4, 1920, lot 64 (to Colnaghi); P. & D. Colnaghi & Co.; Henry Oppenheimer (British); his sale, Christie's, London, July 10, 13–14, 1936, part of lot 120
Morgan Library & Museum, New York. "Drawings from New York Collections, II. The Seventeenth Century in Italy," February 23, 1967–April 22, 1967.
Pennsylvania State University, Museum of Art. "Carlo Maratti and His Contemporaries: Figurative Drawings from the Roman Baroque," January 19, 1975–March 16, 1975.
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Roman Artists of the 17th Century: Drawings and Prints (Athens and New York)," November 2, 1976–January 16, 1977.
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Drawings and Prints: Selections from the Permanent Collection," January 6–April 13, 1997.
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Drawings and Prints: Selections from the Permanent Collection," January 12–April 12, 2009.
Harry B. Wehle "Four New Drawings at the Metropolitan Museum of Art." The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, vol. 32, New York, January 1937, pp. 6-9.
Walter Mehring European Drawings from the Collections of The Metropolitan Museum of Art: A Portfolio of Collotype Reproductions [Vol. 1: Italian Drawings; Vol. 2: Flemish, Dutch, German, Spanish, French, and British drawings; Vol. 3: "New Series": Italian, Flemish, Dutch, German, Spanish, French, and British drawings]. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 3 vols., New York, 1942–44, cat. no. 32 (vol.1), fig. no. 32, ill.
Amalia Mezzetti "Contributi a Carlo Maratti." Rivista dell'Istituto Nazionale d'Archeologia e Storia dell'Arte. vol. 4, 1955, p. 339.
Sir Anthony Blunt, Hereward Lester Cooke The Roman Drawings of the 17th and 18th Centuries in the Collection of Her Majesty the Queen at Windsor Castle. 1960, p. 57.
Frederick J. Cummings Art in Italy 1600-1700. Exh. cat., The Detroit Institute of Arts. Detroit, 1965, p. 67, no. 57, ill.
Jacob Bean, Felice Stampfle Drawings from New York Collections, Vol. II: The Seventeenth Century in Italy. Exh. cat. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Morgan Library & Museum, New York, 1967, cat. no. 115, ill.
Jacob Bean "Ninety-seventh Annual Report of the Trustees for the Fiscal Year Annual Report 1966-1967, Reports of the Departments: Drawings." in The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, n.s. vol. 24, no. 2, New York, October 1967, cat. no. 115, fig. no. 115, ill.
Jean K. Westin, Robert H. Westin Carlo Maratti and His Contemporaries, Figurative Drawing from the Roman Baroque. Exh. cat., Museum of Art, Penn State University (19 Jan. - 16 Mar., 1975). Pennsylvania State University, Museum of Art, University Park, 1975, pp. 59-60, no. 35, fig. 41.
Jacob Bean (but catalogue not signed), The Metropolitan Museum of Art Roman Artists of the 17th Century: Drawings and Prints. Exh. cat., The Metropolitan Museum of Art. New York, 1976, n.p.
Jacob Bean, Lawrence Turčić 17th century Italian Drawings in The Metropolitan Museum of Art. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, 1979, cat. no. 275, fig. no. 275, pp. 209-10, ill.
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