Design for Upright Decorative Panel
18th century
Medium
Red chalk over black chalk with traces of brown wash
Dimensions
sheet: 13 1/2 x 10 3/8 in. (34.3 x 26.3 cm)
Classification
Drawings
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Rogers Fund, 1969
Accession Number
69.552.2
Tags
Art Historical Context
This delicate *Design for Upright Decor Panel*, created by an anonymous French artist in the 18th, exemplifies the ornate elegance of French decorative arts during the Rococo. Measuring 13 1/2 x 10 3/8 inches, this upright composition likely served as a preparatory sketch for architectural panels, furniture, or wall decorations, reflecting the period's passion for intricate ornamentation in interiors and objets d'art. The artwork employs a sophisticated mixed-media technique: red chalk layered over black chalk, with subtle traces of brown wash for added depth and tonal variation. Chalks were ...
About the Artist
Anonymous, French, 18th century · 1700–1800
The artist known as Anonymous, French, 18th century, represents a collective of unidentified talents active roughly between 1700 and 1800, a period of profound artistic evolution in France from the opulent Rococo to the austere dawn of Neoclassicism and Revolutionary fervor. Little is documented about their personal training or mentors, as their anonymity obscures individual biographies, though th...