Sketches of Sculptured Decoration. Entablatures and a Frieze with Human, Animal and Floral Ornaments
mid-17th century
Medium
Pen and brown ink, over traces of leadpoint or graphite
Dimensions
sheet: 12 13/16 x 8 11/16 in. (32.5 x 22 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, 1949
Accession Number
49.50.142
Tags
Art Historical Context
In the lavish world of 17th-century Baroque Italy, Agostino Mitelli, a Bolognese engraver and designer (often called Stanzani Mitelli), captured the exuberance of architectural ornament in this intricate drawing. Titled *Sketches of Sculpt Decoration: Entablatures and aieze with Human, Animal, and Floral Ornaments*, dates to the mid-1600s and showcases Mitelli's mastery of grotesque motifs—playful, intertwined figures of humans, beasts, and blooming flora that adorned palaces and churches. Executed in pen and brown ink over faint leadpoint or graphite underdrawing, the sheet (12 13/16 x 8 11/...