# Nave vault: Allegory of the Jesuits' Missionary Work [View the canonical artwork record]() ## Artwork - Artist: [POZZO, Andrea]() - Date: 1651-1700 - Technique: Fresco ## Commentary The figures of the illusionistic fresco on the ceiling of the nave in Sant'Ignazio people the sky, they inhabit it as far as the eye can see, and dazzling light envelops them.The nearer they are to the source of divine illumination, the more ethereal they become. Aerial perspective supports the diminution of figures in creating the sensation of infinitude. Pozzo's work on the ceiling of the nave in Sant'Ignazio - together with Baciccio's work in the Gesù - are regarded as the epitome of monumental Baroque painting. It is interesting to note that they were done at a time when High Baroque architecture and sculpture had long passed their zenith. The ceiling fresco is also referred to as the Apotheose of Sant'Ignazio. ## Related artworks - [Allegory of the Jesuits' Missionary Work \(detail\)]() - [Allegory of the Jesuits' Missionary Work \(detail\)]() - [Allegory of the Jesuits' Missionary Work \(detail\)]() - [Allegory of the Jesuits' Missionary Work \(detail\)]() - [Allegory of the Jesuits' Missionary Work \(detail\)]() - [Altar of St Ignatius Loyola]() - [Altar of St Ignatius Loyola]() - [Antechoir vault: Vision of St Ignatius at the Battle of Pamplona]() - [Apotheosis of St Francis Xavier]() - [Apse calotte: St Ignatius Helping the Sick and Poor]() - [Apse calotte: St Ignatius Helping the Sick and Poor]() - [Deeds of Hercules and his Apotheosis]() ## Attribution [Web Gallery of Art]()