Design for a Cupola with Old and New Testament Figures
Medium
Watercolor
Dimensions
19 3/4 in. diameter (50.2 cm)
Classification
Drawings
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
The Elisha Whittelsey Collection, The Elisha Whittelsey Fund, 1960
Accession Number
60.630.1
Tags
Art Historical Context
This exquisite watercolor design for a cupola, created by the Italian brothers Pietro and Domenico deis between 1720 and 1804, offers a glimpse into 18th-century ecclesiastical architecture. Measuring 19¾ inches in diameter, its circular format perfectly mirrors the dome it was intended to adorn, likely in a Roman church or grand interior. The De Angelis brothers, known for their work in Rome, blended architectural precision with artistic flourish during the late Baroque to early Neoclassical transition. The composition teems with symbolic figures from the Old and New Testaments, surrounded b...