Design for a Console supported by Putto (recto); Architectural Arcade (verso)
17th century
Medium
Pen and brown ink, brush and brown wash, over traces of graphite underdrawing and ruled construction
Dimensions
sheet: 6 7/16 x 3 1/16 in. (16.4 x 7.8 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, 1949
Accession Number
49.50.113
Tags
Art Historical Context
This exquisite 17th-century Italian drawing, created anonymously, showcases the artistry of ornamental design on both sides of a compact sheet. The recto features a graceful console—a decorative bracket—supported by a playful putto, the chubby infant figure beloved in Baroque-era decoration, evoking whimsy and classical revival. Flipping to the verso reveals an architectural arcade, with rhythmic columns suggesting grand interior spaces or facades, highlighting the versatility of such preparatory sketches. Executed in pen and brown ink with brush and brown wash over faint graphite underdrawin...