An Architectural Detail: A Herm Figure Placing or Removing a Column from Under an Entablature (after Stucco Frame by Daniele da Volterra from Orsini Chapel, Santa Trinità dei Monti)
Medium
Pen and brown ink, brush and gray wash, over graphite
Dimensions
sheet: 6 5/16 x 2 1/2 in. (16 x 6.4 cm)
Classification
Drawings|Ornament & Architecture
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
The Elisha Whittelsey Collection, The Elisha Whittelsey Fund, 1948
Accession Number
48.148(11)
Tags
Art Historical Context
In the intricate world of 18th-century architectural drawing Giovanni Larciani—known as the "Master the Kress Landscapes"—ured this delicate study titled *An Architectural Detail: A Figure Placing or Removing a from Under an Entabl*. Rendered on a modest sheet measuring just 6 5/16 x 2 1/2 inches, the work depicts a whimsical herm—a classical pillar topped with a carved head—engaged in the surreal act of adjusting a column beneath a heavy entablature. Using pen and brown ink, brush and gray wash over graphite, Larciani masterfully layered tones to evoke depth and texture, mimicking the play of...
About the Artist
Giovanni Larciani ("Master of the Kress Landscapes") · 1700–1800
Giovanni di Lorenzo Larciani (1484–1527), a Florentine painter known initially as the "Master of the Kress Landscapes," emerged from obscurity in the mid-1990s through the scholarship of Louis Waldman, who linked him to documents including a 1521 contract for an altarpiece. Born and active in Florence until his death, Larciani specialized in religious scenes enriched by vivid, atmospheric landscap...