A Renaissance Portico with Elegant Figures
ca. 1615
Medium
Oil on copper
Dimensions
Diameter 4 3/8 in. (11.1 cm)
Classification
Paintings
Department
European Paintings
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Gift of Mrs. James Eads Switzer, in memory of her aunt, Yrene Ceballos de Sanz, 1945
Accession Number
45.94.2
Tags
Art Historical Context
Hendrick van Steenwijck II’s *A Renaissance Portico with Elegant Figures* captures the refined elegance of early seventeenth-century Flemish architectural painting. Created around 1615, the small circular work in oil on copper depicts graceful figures gathered beneath a classical portico, its columns and arches rendered with meticulous perspective. Steenwijck, renowned for his precise interiors and exteriors, belonged to a family of architectural specialists who helped popularize such scenes in Northern Europe. The choice of copper as a support enhances the’s luminous quality and allows for d...