Study for Angels Sealing the Foreheads of the Children of Israel in Saint Peter's Basilica. Artist: Pietro da Cortona (Pietro Berrettini) (Italian, Cortona 1596-1669 Rome). Dimensions: 16-3/4 x 44-9/16 in. (42.7 x 113.2 cm) maximum, unevenly cut upper and lower borders. Date: 1652.Composed of three joined sheets, this magisterial design represents a vision of the Apocalypse, with the division of risen souls on the Day of Judgment. It is a study for the mosaic decoration of a dome in the right nave of Saint Peter's basilica. (The oval lantern piercing the dome is lightly indicated at the center.) Work on this important commission began in 1668, the year before Cortona's death, and was overseen by his talented pupil Ciro Ferri (1634-1689).In 1652 Cortona was at work on cartoons for the mosaic decoration of the first three bays in the right nave of Saint Peter's Basilica. For the elliptical cupolas of these bays lie supplied scenes from the Apocalypse - the mosaic of the third cupola re