The Apotheosis of Saint Eusebius

In 1757 Mengs took on the commission to paint the ceiling of the church of Sant' Eusebio in Rome, the first monumental work in the city and the artist's first fresco. Mengs's art embodied both the conventional and the new and with this fresco he showed his preference for simplicity and restraint. 

In this fresco, Mengs began to turn away from the illusionism and dynamism of the Baroque style, and instead imbued the works with the sense of Classicism that he wished to return to art. He drew from classical sculpture in his depiction of human figures, exercised restraint in the compositions, and kept the symbolism simple. In this regard, The Apotheosis of Saint Eusebius is generally considered to be more successful than hisother famous work, Parnassus, though both were among his most influential and famous works, which helped catalyze the rise of Neoclassicism. By choosing to undertake such an important ceiling fresco, moreover, Mengs's work joined a long and illustrious Italian artistic tradition.

Thisfresco depicts Saint Eusebius, a fourth-century Sardinian bishop, at the center of the elongated pictorial space, wearing white and red robes. His left hand is outstretched and held palm-up, and his right hand clutches his chest, as his face looks up toward the bright light shining down from the top of the work, as though he is accepting the glory of God with reverence. He is surrounded by a crowd of putti (some of whom hold the iconographic symbols for Saint Eusebius, a chalice and chain), and angels, one of whom holds the Prologue of St. John's Gospel, and another who holds up a phrase from the creed of Nicene Christianity, "homoousios to Patri" ("consubstantial with the Father"). 

This fresco is in the The church of S. Eusebio, Rome