Drawing, St Paul Shipwrecked on the Island of Malta, study for an illusionistic lunette in the dome of St Paul’s Cathedral by Sir James Thornhill, brown chalk heightened with white, and wash, the composition bordered in gold, laid down on washline mount, Britain, ca. 1715

Drawing in brown chalk heightened with white, and wash; the borders in pen, ink and gold. Study for an illusionistic lunette in the dome of St Paul’s Cathedral depicting St Paul Shipwrecked on the Island of Malta

Provenance: Purchased from E. Parsons in 1886

This drawing came to the museum as part of a set of eight preparatory studies for the painted decoration of the dome of St Paul’s Cathedral At the time of acquisition, these drawings were inserted into a small folio volume with Horace Walpole’s bookplate; they have since been remounted. St Paul’s Cathedral holds a grisaille oil sketch, probably painted after the project was completed (acc. no. 8208).

Sir James Thornhill received the sought-after commission to decorate the dome of the cathedral in 1715 and completed the project in 1717, for which he was paid a total of £6575. The terms of the commission stipulated that the dome be painted with scenes from the New Testament’s Acts of the Apostles and that they should be executed in monochrome to give the appearance of sculptural relief. This study and the final painting indicate Thornhill’s strict observance of these rules.

In 1719, Thornhill announced that he would publish the scenes as a series of prints. One week before the engravings were issued to subscribers in May 1720, Thornhill gave the first set of prints to George I on the occasion of his knighthood.

Paul shipwrecked on the island of Malta (Acts 28:1-5) is the eighth scene from the life of St Paul depicted on the dome of the cathedral and is located to the right of Paul before King Agrippa (see D.1092-1886).

This drawing is a preliminary study for one of the illusionistic lunettes decorating the interior of the dome in St Paul’s Cathedral. Sir James Thornhill received the coveted commission to decorate the dome of the cathedral in 1715 and completed the project in 1717.

The drawing depicts St Paul shipwrecked on Malta (Acts 28:1-5), one of ten scenes from the life of the saint depicted on the dome. It shows Paul in front of the ship having shaken off a viper that had leapt from the fire beneath to the astonishment of those around him. Thornhill sketched the composition of this drawing in brown chalk, enhancing the darker passages with wash and using white chalk to emphasise the highlights.

D.1093-1886