Column (one of a pair)
Unknown Artist
ca. 1500
Medium
Limestone
Dimensions
Height (whole): 60 1/2 in. (153.7 cm); Height (capital): 11 in. (27.9 cm); Height (shaft): 39 1/4 in. (99.7 cm)
Classification
Sculpture-Architectural
Culture
Italian
Department
European Sculpture and Decorative Arts
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Gift of George Blumenthal, 1941
Accession Number
41.100.393
Art Historical Context
This elegant limestone column, one of surviving pair crafted by an unknown Italian artist around 1500, stands as a testament to the Renaissance revival of classical architecture. Measuring 60½ inches tall, with a distinct 11-inch capital atop a 39¼-inch, it exemplifies the period's obsession with proportion and harmony, drawing directly from ancient Roman precedents like the Corinthian or Ionic orders. Displayed in the Metropolitan Museum Art's European Sculpture andative Arts department—thanks to a 1941 gift from George Blumenthal—it invites visitors to imagine its original role supporting a ...