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PIETRO NOVELLI called IL MONREALESE (Monreale 1603 - Palermo 1647) THE CORONATION OF THE VIRGIN
Pen and brown ink, washed in brown, over traces in black chalk. Squared in pen. 326 x 220 mm.
A preparatory drawing for the fresco in the Oratorio del Rosario di San Domenico, Palermo, c. 1630.

Sicily's most important painter of the 1600s, Pietro Novelli trained with his father, a painter and mosaicist, then studied painting and perspective in Palermo. Anthony van Dyck's visit to Sicily in 1624 influenced him for life. Van Dyck's altarpiece of the 'Madonna of the Rosary', still in the oratory of Santa Maria del Rosario, in Palermo, encouraged Novelli to lighten his palette, a decision that added elegance to his art. Novelli's travels also made a lasting impact on his work. Visiting Rome, he studied paintings by the famous Italian Renaissance artists. His draftsmanship in particular, with its economical line, graceful curves, and abbreviated forms, shows his exposure to the art of Giovanni Lanfranco. Returning to Sicily in 1637, Novelli painted primarily religious subjects, including canvases and fresco cycles for ecclesiastical institutions and also served as the royal architect.