The Bodies of Saints Peter and Paul Hidden in the Catacombs

Giovanni Benedetto Castiglione

National Gallery of Art

This is a drawing of a sleeping figure and figures nearby in a wooded landscape. The scene is intricately detailed with cross-hatching and line work. A figure is depicted reclining in a forest-like setting beneath a canopy of dense foliage. To the right, a group of figures can be seen clustered together with their expressions subtly etched into the background of trees and shadows. The composition uses dark and light areas to direct attention towards the sleeping figure, which is illuminated. The atmosphere conveyed is one of a moment captured in a forested or natural setting.