Fountains in Gardens of Villa D'Este, Tivoli (Cento Fontanelle)
Medium
Pen and brown ink, brush and gray and blue wash, over black chalk
Dimensions
sheet: 5 7/8 x 7 11/16 in. (15 x 19.6 cm)
Classification
Drawings
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
The Elisha Whittelsey Collection, The Elisha Whittelsey Fund, 1948
Accession Number
48.148(10)
Tags
Art Historical Context
Step into the enchanting Gardens of the Villa d'Este inoli, Italy, as captured in this delicate 18th-century drawing Giovanni Larciani, as the "Master of Kress Landscapes." Titled *Fountains in Gardens of D'Este, Tivoli (Cento Fontan)*—referring to the legendary "Hundred Fountainsthe work vividly portrays the Renaissance villa's cascading water features and ornate vases. Built in the 16th century for Cardinal Ippolito II d'Este, these gardens are a UNESCO World Heritage marvel, blending hydraulic engineering with Mannerist exuberance to create theatrical displays of water, music, and sculpture...
About the Artist
Giovanni Larciani ("Master of the Kress Landscapes") · 1700–1800
Giovanni di Lorenzo Larciani (1484–1527), a Florentine painter known initially as the "Master of the Kress Landscapes," emerged from obscurity in the mid-1990s through the scholarship of Louis Waldman, who linked him to documents including a 1521 contract for an altarpiece. Born and active in Florence until his death, Larciani specialized in religious scenes enriched by vivid, atmospheric landscap...