Elevation for a Catafalque Surmounted by Squat Obelisk, Decorated with Statues of Putti and Female Figures
1696–1756
Medium
Pen, brown ink and gray wash
Dimensions
20 x 14 3/16 in. (50.8 x 36 cm)
Classification
Drawings
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Purchase, Bequest of Joseph H. Durkee, by exchange, 1972
Accession Number
1972.713.44
Tags
Art Historical Context
This exquisite drawing by Giuseppe Galli Bibiena a master of the Bibiena family’s renowned Baroque scenography, presents an *Elevation for a Catafal Surmounted by Squatelisk, Decorated Statues of Putti Female Figures*. Created between 1696 and 1756, it depicts a grand temporary funerary structure—a catafalque—topped by a sturdy obelisk and adorned with playful putti (cherubic figures) and elegant female statues. Such designs were hallmarks of 18th-century Italian festival architecture, blending theatrical drama with solemn ritual for noble funerals or commemorative events. Executed in pen wit...
About the Artist
Giuseppe Galli Bibiena
Giuseppe Galli Bibiena was born on January 5, 1696, in Parma, into what would become the most celebrated dynasty of theatrical designers in Baroque Europe. He was the second son of Ferdinando Galli Bibiena, who was himself a transformative figure in stage design and the originator of the family's defining innovation: the scena per angolo, or "scene viewed at an angle." This technique replaced the ...