3-002-421 - Heritage Art/Heritage Images

Flying and Adoring Angels, 1613-1614. This early work by Fetti was installed in the chapel of the Mainardi family in the church of San Lorenzo in Damaso in Rome. It was painted as a background for an image of the Virgin and Child in an oval frame. At some point, the inset painting was removed, and today there is an 18th-century Virgin and Child in its place. During the 17th century, early religious images were often considered more sacred than contemporary ones, which explains why Fetti was commissioned to paint a monumental work to frame and enhance another picture.