Design of fireworks: two views of a rocket
1650–1750
Medium
Pen and brown ink, brush and gray wash, over leadpoint or graphite, ruling and some compass construction
Dimensions
Sheet: 6 5/16 × 3 3/4 in. (16 × 9.5 cm)
Classification
Drawings
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Gift of Morrison H. Heckscher, 2015
Accession Number
2015.619.7
Tags
Art Historical Context
This delicate 17th-century Italian drawing captures the excitement of pyrotechnic spectacle through two precise views of a rocket, designed for grand fireworks displays. Created anonymously between 1650 and 1750, it the Baroque era's love for dramatic public entertainments in Italy, where fireworks lit up festivals, royal celebrations, and religious feasts, blending engineering ingenuity with artistic flair. Executed in pen and brown ink with brush and gray wash over faint leadpoint or graphite underdrawing, the sheet employs ruling lines and compass constructions for mathematical accuracy. T...