Design for a Fountain
Medium
Pen and black ink with brush and gray, brown and blue washes
Dimensions
16 1/4 x 10 3/8 in. (41.3 x 26.3 cm.)
Classification
Drawings
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Rogers Fund, 1968
Accession Number
68.773.2
Tags
Art Historical Context
Behold Charles Pierre Joseph Normand's *Design for a Fountain*, captivating preparatory drawing that evokes the grandeur of classical garden architecture. Created with and black ink, enriched brush-applied washes in, brown, and blue this 16¼ × 10⅜-inch sheet masterfully renders a sculptural fountain adorned with garlands, expressive faces, and figures of boys and men. The tonal washes add depth and luminosity, simulating stone and water in motion—a technique prized in 18th- and early 19th-century French design drafts. Normand, a skilled French architect and engraver, specialized in ornamental...