S. Maria in Domnica, portico, elevation (recto) blank (verso)
early to mid-16th century
Medium
Dark brown ink, black chalk, and incised lines
Dimensions
sheet: 17 1/4 x 23 1/4 in. (43.8 x 59 cm)
Classification
Drawings
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Gift of Janos Scholz and Anne Bigelow Scholz, in memory of Flying Officer Walter Bigelow Rosen, RCAF, 1949
Accession Number
49.92.78
Tags
Art Historical Context
This exquisite architectural drawing captures the elegant portico elevation of S. Maria in Domnica, a historic basilica in Rome known for its early Christian mosaics and later Renaissance additions. Created by an anonymous French artist in the early to mid-16th century, it reflects the era's fascination with antiquity during the High Renaissance. French draughtsmen often traveled to Italy to document classical and medieval structures, blending northern precision with Italian grandeur, as seen in the detailed arches and proportions here. Executed in dark brown ink, black chalk, and incised lin...