Design for a Wall Decoration
ca. 1800
Medium
Watercolor
Dimensions
sheet: 9 1/8 x 12 1/2 in. (23.2 x 31.8 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, 1962
Accession Number
62.517.2
Tags
Art Historical Context
This delicate watercolor, titled *Design for a Wall Decoration hails from Britain around 1800, created by an anonymous artist during the early years of the 19th. Measuring just 9 1/8 x 12 1/2 inches, it exemplifies the period's fascination with architectural ornamentation, likely intended as a proposal for elegant interior walls in grand homes or public spaces. Watercolor was a favored medium for such designs, offering translucent layers of color that captured intricate patterns and subtle textures with remarkable precision and portability—ideal for architects and designers sketching ideas on ...