Il Gesù Ceiling

Il Gesu is the mother church of the Jesuits.Its facade recognized as "the first truly baroque façade" and it was the model for innumerable Jesuit churches all over the world, especially in the Americas. But it is the interior of the church that makes it among the masterpieces in the vd-guide. Giovanni Battista Gaulli's ceiling is a masterpiece of quadratura (architectural illusionism) combining stuccoed and painted figures and architecture.It is difficult to distinguish painted from stucco angels. The figural composition spill over the frame's edges which only heightens the illusion of the faithful rising miraculously toward the light above.