Perspectival Drawing of an Armchair
1500–1546
Medium
Pen and black ink, brush and gray wash
Dimensions
sheet: 2 7/16 x 1 11/16 in. (6.2 x 4.3 cm)
Classification
Drawings
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Purchase, Jean A. Bonna Gift, 2007
Accession Number
2007.223.2
Tags
Art Historical Context
Peter Flötner’s *Perspectival Drawing of Armchair* (ca. 1500–1546) captures the Northern Renaissance fascination with precise spatial representation in a remarkably compact sheet of pen and black ink heightened with brush and gray wash Measuring just 2 7/16 x 1 11/16 inches, this intimate drawing exemplifies Flötner’s role as a pioneering German designer and engraver, who bridged late Gothic traditions with emerging Renaissance ideals. Active in Nuremberg, a hub of artistic innovation, Flötner created patterns for furniture, metalwork, and prints, influencing the decorative arts across Europe....
About the Artist
Peter Flötner · 1485–1546
Peter Flötner (c. 1485–1546) was a German sculptor, ornament designer, and medalist whose work played a central role in the transmission of Italian Renaissance decorative vocabulary into the German-speaking lands. Though his exact origins remain uncertain — he may have trained in Augsburg before settling permanently in Nuremberg around 1522 — his formation evidently included exposure to Italian Re...