St. Helena and the Emperor Constantine Presented to the Holy Trinity by the Virgin Mary,...

This painting served as a preparatory sketch or modello, for the ceiling of the basilica of Santa Croce in Gerusalemme in Rome. It presents a complicated allegory of Christian victory which alludes to the relics in the church as well as to the church's association with St. Helen. She is seen kneeling at the left side of the middle section to present her son Constantine, the first Christian Emperor, to the Virgin Mary. Above St. Helen, Christ kneels before the cross, facing God the Father and the Holy Spirit. Directly below Mary, Pope Silvester I, who baptised Constantine and dedicated Santa Croce to the cross, raises his staff to her. Silvester's face bears the features of Pope Benedict XIV, to whom Giaquinto presented the sketch for approval in 1741. In the lower section, St. Michael the Archangel vanquishes a group of heretics and topples Lucifer from his throne. With its excellent color harmonies and rich brushwork, this oil sketch is among Giaquinto's most beautiful paintings, and when the ceiling for the Santa Croce basilica was finally completed in 1743, it cemented Giaquinto's fame.