Design for an Altar Erected for the Holy Week
1730–66
Medium
Pen and brown ink, brush and brown wash
Dimensions
7 3/8 x 4 5/8in. (18.7 x 11.8cm)
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
52.570.336
Tags
Art Historical Context
Mauro Antonio Tesi's *Design for an Altar Erect for the Holy Week*1730–66) captures the devotional fervor of 18th-century Italian Catholicism. As a prominent Bolognese artist,aver, and designer,esi specialized in ornate architecture and ornamentation, blending Baroque grandeur with emerging Rococo elegance. This preparatory drawing likely served as a blueprint for a temporary altar used during Holy Week processions—solemn rituals commemorating Christ's Passion, culminating in Easter. Such ephemeral structures, adorned with crosses, images of Jesus, and angels, transformed churches and streets ...
About the Artist
Mauro Antonio Tesi
Mauro Antonio Tesi, affectionately nicknamed "Il Maurino" by his patron Francesco Algarotti, was born on January 15, 1730, in the small town of Montalbano near Modena, Italy. Largely self-taught, Tesi honed his skills as a painter, draftsman, and engraver, establishing himself in Bologna where he became a prominent figure in the late-Baroque decorative arts scene. His early career focused on archi...