Design for a Frame or Epitaph (recto); Caryatid Supporting a Frame (verso)

Art Historical Context

Giovanni Battista Foggini (2–1725), a leading Florentine sculptor, architect, and designer of the late Baroque period created this double-sided drawing as a preparatory study for ornate architectural elements. Born in Italy, Foggini trained under prominent masters and contributed to grand ecclesiastical and palatial decorations, blending classical motifs with exuberant ornamentation characteristic of the Baroque style. Produced during his active career, this sheet exemplifies his skill in conceptualizing frames and supports for memorials or altarpieces. On the recto, delicate pen and light brown ink lines, enhanced by brush and brown wash over faint black chalk underdrawing, outline a "Design for a Frame or Epitaph." The verso features a fluid black chalk sketch of a caryatid—a sculpted female figure used as a column—gracefully supporting another frame. These techniques allowed Foggini to explore light, shadow, and form with remarkable fluidity, typical of 17th-century draftsmanship, bridging drawing and sculpture. Housed in the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Drawings and Prints department (The Elisha Whittelsey Collection, 1952), this 9¾ × 6 in. work highlights the era's fascination with elaborate frameworks in religious and funerary art, showcasing how Baroque artists like Foggini elevated decorative design to sculptural poetry. A window into Renaissance-to-Baroque transitions, it invites us to appreciate the meticulous planning behind opulent interiors.

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 ...