Pedestal with Relief Carving of a Bacchanal with Ornamental Borders
Medium
Pen and brown ink, brush and brown wash, over graphite on light-brown washed paper
Dimensions
sheet: 5 7/8 x 4 9/16 in. (15 x 11.6 cm)
Classification
Drawings|Ornament & Architecture
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(78a)
Tags
Art Historical Context
This delicate drawing by Giovanni Larciani, as the "Master of Kress Landscapes," captures fantastical pedestal adorned with a lively relief carving of a Bacchanal—a riotous celebration inspired by the Roman god Bacchus. Surrounded by intricate ornamental borders, the scene bursts with figures including men, playful infants (likely putti), musical instruments, and architectural motifs, evoking the exuberant spirit of classical mythology and Renaissance revelry. Such designs were prized in 16th-century Italy for decorating furniture, wall panels, or grand architectural elements, blending fantasy...
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...