Design for a Ewer with Bull's Heads under the Handels and Spout
1652–1725
Medium
Pen and brown ink, brush and gray wash, over traces of black chalk; glued onto secondary paper support
Dimensions
sheet: 7 3/8 x 4 in. (18.7 x 10.1 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, 1952
Accession Number
52.570.248
Tags
Art Historical Context
Giovanni Battista Foggini, prominent Florentine Baroque artist (1652–1725), this intricate design for a luxurious ewer—a elegant pitcher used for pouring water or wine at grand tables. Working in the opulent Medici court, Foggini in decorative arts, blending classical motifs with exuberant Baroque flourish. Dated to his active years, this drawing exemplifies the era's fascination with mythological and zoomorphic elements, like the fierce bull's heads positioned under the handles and spout, evoking strength and ancient symbolism possibly drawn from Greek myths such as Europa and the Bull. Exec...
About the Artist
Giovanni Battista Foggini · 1652–1725
**Giovanni Battista Foggini** (1652–1725) was a leading Italian sculptor and architect of the late Baroque period, born in Florence within the Grand Duchy of Tuscany. He began his career under the patronage of the Medici family, who sponsored his artistic training. In 1673, at the age of 21, Cosimo III de' Medici sent the young Foggini to Rome to join the newly founded Accademia Fiorentina, where ...