Design for a Tomb for a Cardinal
Medium
Pen and brown ink, brush and brown wash
Dimensions
sheet: 8 11/16 x 10 1/2 in. (22 x 26.7 cm)
Classification
Drawings
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
The Elisha Whittelsey Collection, The Elisha Whittelsey Fund, 1949
Accession Number
49.19.22
Tags
Art Historical Context
This intricate *Design for a Tomb for Cardinal*, attributed to the renowned French architect Jacques Androu du Cerceau or an anonymous 16th contemporary, captures the grandeur of Renaissance ecclesiastical architecture. Created around the mid-1500s using pen and brown ink with brush and brown wash on modest 8 11/16 x 10 1/2-inch sheet, it sketches an elaborate tomb likely intended for a high-ranking Catholic cleric. Du Cerceau, a master of ornamental design and author of influential architectural treatises like *Le Premier Volume des Plus Excellents Bastiments de France*, blended Italian Renai...