Design for an Egyptian-style Interior
1810
Medium
Pen and black ink, gray wash
Dimensions
sheet: 8 3/4 x 13 3/4 in. (22.2 x 34.9 cm)
Classification
Drawings
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Gift of Harry G. Friedman, 1962
Accession Number
62.635.215
Tags
Art Historical Context
Created in 1810, Gaetano Landi’s “Design for an Egyptian-style Interior” captures the wave of fascination with ancient Egypt that swept through Europe following Napoleon’s campaigns. This delicate drawing, rendered in pen and black ink with gray wash, presents a carefully composed architectural vision complete with monumental columns and richly detailed interior spaces. At just over eight by thirteen inches, the sheet feels intimate yet ambitious, offering a window into how designers translated distant antiquity into modern domestic settings. Landi’s use of wash adds subtle depth and shadow, ...