The Blessed Egidius (Cartoon for a Fresco in chapel at S. Maria degli Angeli, Assisi) 1514–16 Lo Spagna (Giovanni di Pietro) Italian This carefully rendered working drawing of about 1514-16 was produced as a cartoon, or full-scale design, for the figure of the Blessed Egidius frescoed on the right entrance wall of the small polygonal chapel (the "Cappella del Transito") by the south transept of the basilica of Santa Maria degli Angeli in Assisi, marking the location where Saint Francis died on October 3, 1226. A Franciscan friar and a close companion of the famous saint, the Blessed Egidius (a
The Blessed Egidius (Cartoon for a Fresco in chapel at S. Maria degli Angeli, Assisi) 1514–16 Lo Spagna (Giovanni di Pietro) Italian This carefully rendered working drawing of about 1514-16 was produced as a cartoon, or full-scale design, for the figure of the Blessed Egidius frescoed on the right entrance wall of the small polygonal chapel (the "Cappella del Transito") by the south transept of the basilica of Santa Maria degli Angeli in Assisi, marking the location where Saint Francis died on October 3, 1226. A Franciscan friar and a close companion of the famous saint, the Blessed Egidius (also known as "Giles of Assisi") was born in Assisi and died in Perugia in 1262, his relics being venerated there at the Church of San Francesco al Prato. From around 1243 onward, Egidius lived at the Monte Rapido hermitage on the outskirts of Perugia. In Lo Spagna's simple frescoed composition, the figure of Egidius is accompanied by a group of Franciscan friars each conceived of in a standing, three-quarter length pose, facing toward a glazed terracotta statue of Saint Francis at the apse of the small chapel; each of the frescoed figures is inscribed with its name. As comparisons to the fresco make clear, the Museum's cartoon appears to be in nearly intact original size. The frescoes at Santa Maria degli Angeli are among the most significant works of Lo Spagna, and were celebrated in Giorgio Vasari's brief biography of the artist (Florence, 1568). A little-known manuscript of 1570-1580 largely written by Fra' Ludovico da Pietralunga also favorably described Lo Spagna's frescoes: "...perché la cappeletta è ripartita in cinque facciate, le qual figure sono ritratte di naturale: et che veramente stanno molto bene." (Ms. 148, Biblioteca Comunale di Assisi, fol. 96 r; see Descrizione della Basilica di S. Francesco e di Altri Santuari Di Assisi, edited by Pietro Scarpellini, Treviso, 1982, p. 33.) As is exemplified in the Museum's cartoon, the use of an orderly, diagonal cross-h
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