Design for a Crystal Chandelier
19th century
Medium
Pen and brown ink
Dimensions
sheet: 15 5/16 x 12 1/16 in. (38.9 x 30.7 cm)
Classification
Drawings
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Rogers Fund, 1966
Accession Number
66.631.77
Tags
Art Historical Context
This delicate pen and brown ink drawing, titled *Design for a Crystal Chand*, captures the opulent spirit of 19th-century France. Created by an anonymous artist, it sketches an intricate lighting fixture destined for grand interiors—perhaps a lavish Parisian salon, theater, or hôtel particulier. Measuring 15 5/16 x 12 1/16 inches, the sheet showcases the meticulous planning behind luxury decorative arts, where such designs bridged the gap between imagination and craftsmanship. In the 19th century, amid France's Industrial Revolution and imperial splendor under Napoleon III, crystal chandelier...
About the Artist
Anonymous, French, 19th century · 1800–1900
**Anonymous, French, 19th Century (ca. 1800–1900)** The artist cataloged as Anonymous, French, 19th century embodies the enigmatic yet essential contributions of unidentified creators to France's vibrant 19th-century art world. Active roughly between 1800 and 1900, this figure—or potentially collective workshop—produced a diverse array of works amid the nation's transition from Neoclassicism thro...