Skip Navigation

The Eternal Father, sketch

Francisco Bayeu y Subías

European Art

In 1791 Bayeu, along with several other artists, earned a prestigious assignment to decorate the Oratory of the King in the Palacio Real de Aranjuez, south of Madrid. For one of the vaults of this two-chambered space dedicated to the Virgin Mary and to the Immaculate Conception, Bayeu painted a luminous God the Father enthroned on a sturdy bank of clouds. While several attendant angels bear a canopy, others carry a banderole, or banner, that reads “Virtus altissimi obumbravit tibi” (The power of the Most High will overshadow you). An aptly selected text for the ceiling of the chapel, this verse from the Gospel of Luke (1:35) further announces Mary’s future role as the mother of Jesus. In three rectangular scenes surrounding the central composition of this sketch, Bayeu provides additional episodes from the life of Mary: the Birth of the Virgin, the Education of the Virgin, and the Annunciation, the moment when Mary learns that she will bear Jesus.
MEDIUM Oil on canvas
  • Place Made: Spain
  • DATES 1791
    DIMENSIONS 24 7/8 × 24 7/8 in. (63.2 × 63.2 cm) frame: 29 × 29 × 2 3/4 in. (73.7 × 73.7 × 7 cm)  (show scale)
    INSCRIPTIONS Inscribed on banderole carried by angels: "VIRTUS ALTISSIMI OBUMBRAVIT TIBI"
    COLLECTIONS European Art
    ACCESSION NUMBER 06.87
    CREDIT LINE Gift of Francis Gottsberger in memory of his wife, Eliza
    MUSEUM LOCATION This item is not on view
    CAPTION Francisco Bayeu y Subías (Spanish, 1734-1795). The Eternal Father, sketch, 1791. Oil on canvas, 24 7/8 × 24 7/8 in. (63.2 × 63.2 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Gift of Francis Gottsberger in memory of his wife, Eliza, 06.87 (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 06.87_acetate_bw.jpg)
    IMAGE overall, 06.87_acetate_bw.jpg. Brooklyn Museum photograph
    "CUR" at the beginning of an image file name means that the image was created by a curatorial staff member. These study images may be digital point-and-shoot photographs, when we don\'t yet have high-quality studio photography, or they may be scans of older negatives, slides, or photographic prints, providing historical documentation of the object.
    RIGHTS STATEMENT No known copyright restrictions
    This work may be in the public domain in the United States. Works created by United States and non-United States nationals published prior to 1923 are in the public domain, subject to the terms of any applicable treaty or agreement. You may download and use Brooklyn Museum images of this work. Please include caption information from this page and credit the Brooklyn Museum. If you need a high resolution file, please fill out our online application form (charges apply). The Museum does not warrant that the use of this work will not infringe on the rights of third parties, such as artists or artists' heirs holding the rights to the work. It is your responsibility to determine and satisfy copyright or other use restrictions before copying, transmitting, or making other use of protected items beyond that allowed by "fair use," as such term is understood under the United States Copyright Act. The Brooklyn Museum makes no representations or warranties with respect to the application or terms of any international agreement governing copyright protection in the United States for works created by foreign nationals. For further information about copyright, we recommend resources at the United States Library of Congress, Cornell University, Copyright and Cultural Institutions: Guidelines for U.S. Libraries, Archives, and Museums, and Copyright Watch. For more information about the Museum's rights project, including how rights types are assigned, please see our blog posts on copyright. If you have any information regarding this work and rights to it, please contact copyright@brooklynmuseum.org.
    RECORD COMPLETENESS
    Not every record you will find here is complete. More information is available for some works than for others, and some entries have been updated more recently. Records are frequently reviewed and revised, and we welcome any additional information you might have.