Design for the Trompe L'Oeil Decoration of a Ceiling
Medium
Pen and ink and brown wash
Dimensions
4-1/2 x 10-1/2 in (irregular)
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
52.570.303
Tags
Art Historical Context
This delicate pen and ink drawing with brown wash, created by an anonymous Bolognese artist in the 18th century, presents a preparatory design for a trompe l'oeil ceiling decoration. Measuring just 4-1/2 x 10-1/2 inches with an irregular shape, it captures the architectural fantasy typical of Bologna's vibrant Baroque tradition. Bologna, a hub of Italian art in the 17th and 18th centuries, was renowned for its quadratura painters who specialized in illusionistic perspectives, making painted surfaces appear as grand architectural spaces. Trompe l'oeil—"deceive the eye"—was a masterful techniqu...