Design for an Oval Mirror, Surmounted by an Urn and Draped with Neoclassic Swags
1740–96
Medium
Pen and gray ink, brush and gray wash and watercolor
Dimensions
sheet: 18 1/2 x 14 7/8 in. (47 x 37.8 cm)
Classification
Drawings|Ornament & Architecture
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Harris Brisbane Dick Fund, 1934
Accession Number
34.78.2(1)
Tags
Art Historical Context
Welcome to the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Drawings and Prints collection, Sir William Chambers' * for an Oval Mirror, Surmounted by an Urn and Draped withoclassic Swags* (ca. 174096) offers a glimpse 18th-century neoclassicism. Chambers, a leading architect and influential figure in London's Royal Academy, drew inspiration from ancient Roman and Greek motifs during his Grand Tour of Europe. This preparatory drawing exemplifies his role in introducing refined, symmetrical designs to British interiors, blending elegance with classical restraint as a counterpoint to the ornate Rococo style. Th...
About the Artist
Sir William Chambers · 1723–1796
### Sir William Chambers (1723–1796) Born on 23 February 1723 in Gothenburg, Sweden, to parents of Scottish descent—his father a merchant—Sir William Chambers embarked on an extraordinary path that bridged continents and cultures. At just 16, after initial education in England, he joined the Swedish East India Company, undertaking three voyages to China in the 1740s. These journeys profoundly sha...