Ambition the moth of holiness.

The Portrait of Pope Innocent XIV and Cardinal Lawrence (2025)

An homage to Jacques-Louis David's 1808 portrait of Pope Pius VII and Cardinal Caprara during Napoleon's coronation that depicted the Pope's stressful moment as he was forced by Napoleon to travel to Paris.

In this piece I envision that Pope Innocent XIV’s papacy faces some resistance from the traditionalist faction and the weight of it is evident on both their faces.

He wears the Roman chasuble (I used elements of the design by Lisy Christl) and Lawrence wears his pectoral cross (by Riccardo Penko) pinned to his cassock in order to appease the opposition by superficially adopting traditional aesthetics while he implements Church reforms, inspired by the real life reception of Pope Leo XIV by online Trads despite very clearly continuing Pope Francis’s legacy. 

Vincent was also “forced” into the papal throne when he was elected Pope, leaving behind his flock in Kabul, adding to his melancholy.

This will be in my Comic Frontier 21 prints catalog, and is the first in a series of art history inspired Conclave fan art that I have planned for a future personal zine project. International sales and shipping for my other prints are still in the works, but I'll post an update once all is set!