A Blessed Abbess Receiving the Host from the Hands of Christ

Giovanni Battista Gaulli, known as Baciccio, was the most celebrated fresco painter in Rome in the late seventeenth century, best known for his spectacular ceiling of the Gesù church. His smaller devotional works, such as this scene of a blessed abbess receiving the Host from Christ, demonstrate his ability to distil the emotional intensity of his large-scale decorative projects into intimate cabinet pictures. The subject reflects the Jesuit emphasis on mystical union with Christ through the Eucharist.

The composition is structured around the luminous Host, which serves as the light source illuminating both Christ and the abbess. Gaulli's painterly handling here shows the loose, expressive brushwork that characterised his oil sketches and smaller devotional works. The warm amber tonality and soft sfumato of the faces are consistent with his mature Roman style.