Ornamental Design for Coffered Ceiling
1520s; printed 1684
Medium
etching and aquatint
Classification
Department
CG-E
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
Ailsa Mellon Bruce Fund
Accession Number
1979.44.10
Art Historical Context
Daniel Hopfer's *Ornamental Design forered Ceiling*, created in the 1520s and printed in 1684, exemplifies the inventive spirit of the Northern Renaissance. Hopfer, a pioneering German artist from Augsburg, was among the first to master etching for printmaking, often applying it to iron plates to capture intricate ornamental motifs inspired by classical antiquity and contemporary architecture. This print, housed in the National Gallery of Art's CG-E department (acquired through the Ailsa Mellon Fund), depicts elaborate patterns suited for coffered ceilings—cessed panels that adorned grand inte...
About the Artist
Daniel Hopfer · 1471–1536
Daniel Hopfer (c. 1470–1536), born in Kaufbeuren, was the son of the painter Bartholomäus Hopfer and Anna Sendlerin. He relocated early to Augsburg, becoming a citizen and master painter there in 1493, and trained as an etcher of armor in this thriving center of arms production. By 1505, he owned a house in the city center and served on the guild committee for smiths, which encompassed painters an...