Design for a Stained Glass Window
1608
Medium
Pen and black ink, gray and light brown-gray wash
Dimensions
16 3/16 x 12 5/16 in. (41.1 x 31.2 cm)
Classification
Drawings|Ornament & Architecture
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Edward Pearce Casey Fund, 1994
Accession Number
1994.24
Tags
Art Historical Context
Christoph Murer, a prolific Swiss artist, engraver, and cartographer from Zurich (1558–1614), created this *Design for a Stained Glass Window* in 1608. Executed in pen and black ink with subtle gray and light brown-gray washes on paper (16 3/16 x 12 5/16 in.), it exemplifies the meticulous preparatory drawings used by Renaissance designers to plan vibrant stained glass panels. Housed in the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Drawings and Prints department, this work highlights Murer's versatility in ornament and architecture. The composition likely centers on heraldic motifs, featuring women, anima...
About the Artist
Christoph Murer · 1558–1614
Christoph Murer was born in Zurich in 1558 into a dynasty of Swiss artists, the son of the glass painter Josias Murer and grandson of the celebrated painter and dramatist Jos Murer. Growing up surrounded by the craft of stained glass and the broader artistic culture of late Reformation Switzerland, he received thorough training in both glass painting and drawing, eventually becoming one of the mos...