A French artist’s decor at Sant’Andrea al Quirinale

The church of Sant’Andrea al Quirinale (ill. 1), one of Bernini’s architectural masterpieces, is certainly one of the best known in Rome. But in this city of inexhaustible heritage, even the most famous buildings sometimes conceal works that have been little or poorly studied. Thus, alongside the paintings by Baciccio and Guillaume Courtois, the stuccowork by Antonio Raggi, executed under the direction of Gian Lorenzo Bernini, and the Saint Stanislas Kostka by Pierre Legros (ill. 2), the sacristy (ill. 3), itself drawn by Bernini, has a fine ceiling (ill. 4) painted by a French artist about whom little is known.

1. Facade of the chiesa
Sant’Andrea al Quirinale
Photo: Didier Rykner

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2. Pierre Legros (1629-1714)
Saint Stanislas Kostka on his Deathbed
White marble, yellow marble, alabaster,
basalt - 108 x 225 x 167 cm
Rome, chiesa Sant’Andrea al Quirinale
Photo: Didier Rykner

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At first glance, the work is reminiscent of the ceilings by Baciccio, who is known to have been very close to Bernini. While the style is not far removed, and the work is beautiful, it is nevertheless of a lower quality than that of this artist.

3. Sacristy of the chiesa
Sant’Andrea al Quirinale
Photo: Didier Rykner

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4. Jean de la Borde
( c. 1640-1645 ?-after 1693)
Ceiling of the sacristy with
the Apotheosis of Saint Andrew
Fresco
Rome, chiesa Sant’Andrea al Quirinale
Photo: Didier Rykner

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5. Jean de la Borde
( c. 1640-1645 ?-after 1693)
Apotheosis of Saint Andrew
Fresco
Rome, chiesa Sant’Andrea al Quirinale (central part of the sacristy ceiling)
Photo: Didier Rykner

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Whose fresco might this be? An internet search quickly yields a name, which can even be found on the Wikipedia entry for the church in French (but not in the English or Italian versions): "The…