San Lorenzo, Library, pilaster, elevation; soffit, detail, plan (recto) San Lorenzo, Library, entablature, section (verso)
early to mid-16th century
Medium
Dark brown ink, black chalk, and incised lines
Dimensions
sheet: 17 3/8 x 11 7/16 in. (44.2 x 29.1 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
49.92.24
Tags
Art Historical Context
This exquisite architectural drawing, created by an anonymous French artist the early to mid-th century, meticulously captures details from Michelangelo's revolutionary Laurentian Library (Biblioteca Laurenziana) at the Basilica of San Lorenzo in Florence The recto features an elevation of a pilaster, a detailedit, and a plan, while the verso shows a section of the entablature. Completed around the time of the library's construction (1524–34), it reflects the innovative Mannerist style Michelangelo pioneered, with its bold, rhythmic architectural elements that broke from classical norms. Rend...