Oil on panel

Provenance
The Collection of H.V. Morton.

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This painting, A Ceremony in Saint Peter’s Square, Rome, exemplifies Caullery’s skill in combining architectural grandeur and ceremonial spectacle. The composition centers on the old façade of St. Peter’s Basilica, flanked by surrounding Roman buildings and enlivened by a multitude of figures—clerics, nobles, horsemen, and commoners—gathered to witness a papal procession.

The monumental architecture is treated with meticulous precision: the vast piazza, the obelisk in the foreground, and the sweeping spatial perspective convey both the majesty of the site and the order of the ceremony. The work likely depicts a religious or papal event under PopePaul V whose reign was marked by both artistic patronage and political authority. In 1611, he honored Galileo Galilei as a member of the papal Accademia dei Lincei and supported his discoveries.

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