Design for a Cassone (Recto), Design for a Tomb (Verso)
ca. 1530–60
Medium
Pen and brown ink, brush and gray-brown wash (recto and verso)
Dimensions
sheet: 16 1/8 x 10 11/16 in. (41 x 27.2 cm)
Classification
Drawings|Ornament & Architecture
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Rogers Fund, 1966
Accession Number
66.621.3
Tags
Art Historical Context
This double-sided drawing from mid-16th-century Italy offers a fascinating glimpse into the working methods of Renaissance designers. Created with pen and brown ink accented by gray-brown wash, the sheet measures just over 16 inches tall and served as a practical study for two very different projects. On one side, the artist sketched an ornate cassone—a richly decorated marriage chest prized by wealthy Italian families—while the reverse features designs for a tomb, complete with profiled figures that evoke classical commemorative sculpture. Such drawings highlight the broad range of commissio...