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Some key aspects of Pietro da Cortona's ceiling in the Roman church of Santa Maria in Vallicella were brought to their extreme consequences by Baciccio in the ceiling of the nave of il Gesù. The Genoese painter came to Rome in 1660 and he soon became familiar with Bernini and his scholars. The design of the ceiling was suggested by Bernini, who had always been a supporter of combining architecture, sculpture and painting to impress the viewer. Here too we have a painting included in a cornice supported by stucco angels on a background of gilded decoration; and the painting is clearly divided into two parts, but the overall effect is much more dramatic.
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