Design for a Frontispiece; Allegorical Composition with a Young Man Kneeling before a Tree
1615–66
Medium
Pen and brown ink, brush and brown wash, highlighted with white, over black chalk, on brown-washed paper
Dimensions
9-7/16 x 6-5/8 in. (24.0 x 16.9 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
1980.119
Tags
Art Historical Context
Giovanni Angelo Canini (1609–1666), a Roman Baroque artist known for his elegant drawings and frescoes, this preparatory design around the mid-17th century. Titled *Design for a Frontisp; Allegorical Composition with a Young Man Kneeling before a Tree*, depicts a symbolic scene likely intended for a book title page or engraved frontispiece. Such designs were popular in the Baroque era, blending architecture, ornament, and allegory to convey themes of virtue, devotion, or classical learning, with the kneeling youth perhaps symbolizing humility or reverence toward nature or wisdom. Executed on ...