# Saint Charles Borromeo Supervising the Opening of a Crypt

- By: Cesare Nebbia (Italian, 1536–1614)
- Date: c. 1604
- Medium: Pen and brown ink, with brush and brown wash, over graphite, on cream laid paper
- Classification: Drawing and Watercolor
- Dimensions: 16.2 × 21.3 cm (6 7/16 × 8 7/16 in.)
- Culture: Italy
- Credit line: Gift of John A. Bross in memory of Louise Smith Bross
- Museum: [Art Institute of Chicago](https://www.artic.edu/artworks/223805)
- Rights: [Public domain (CC0)](https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/)
- Picture: https://www.artic.edu/iiif/2/f4751ea5-ab9e-ab0c-a46b-5da777fdeead/full/!1920,1080/0/default.jpg
- Who can see it: Tweens profiles and older (museums give no ratings; placed by Invisible Network from the museum's own words)

Federico Zuccaro painted another of the Collegio Borromeo frescos. His inscription on this drawing indicates his ownership of the work, which he presumably acquired from Nebbia directly. Its subject matter relates to Borromeo’s miraculous discovery of a group of holy relics in a crypt. In each of the three Bross drawings relating to the frescos, the saint is identifiable by his characteristically large nose.

Description © Art Institute of Chicago, CC BY 4.0