Design for the Garden Façade of a Palace
1695–1766
Medium
Graphite, pen and black and gray ink, brush and gray wash
Dimensions
16 5/8 x 32 7/8 in. (42.2 x 83.5 cm)
Classification
Drawings
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Gift of Estate of Ogden Codman, 1951
Accession Number
51.644.151
Tags
Art Historical Context
Giovanni Niccolò Servandoni (1695–1766), an Italian-born architect, painter, and stage designer who flourished in France, created this exquisite *Design for the Gardençade of a Palace during the opulent Baroque era. Working amid the grandeur of Louis XV's France, Servandoni was renowned for his dramatic architectural visions, blending theatrical flair with classical symmetry. This drawing captures the imagined splendor of a palace's garden-facing elevation, evoking the lavish estates like Versailles, where architecture served as a stage for royal power and pleasure. Rendered in graphite, pen ...