Design for the Decorations of Five Pilaster Strips
Medium
interiors
Classification
interiors
Department
Smithsonian Collection
Museum
Smithsonian American Art Museum
Credit
Museum purchase through gift of various donors and from Eleanor G. Hewitt Fund
Accession Number
1938-88-1471
About this artwork
Research in Progress
Art Historical Context
Giuseppe Barberi (174–1809), a prominent Italian architect and designer in Rome, created this *Design for the Decorations Five Pilaster Strips around 1790.asters—flattened columnar elements projecting from walls—were essential to neoclassical interiors, evoking the grandeur of ancient Roman architecture. Barberi's drawing likely served as a blueprint for ornate wall decorations, blending symmetry, classical motifs, and refined ornamentation typical of the era's shift from Baroque exuberance to elegant restraint. This work exemplifies the late 18th-century fascination with antiquity, as archit...