Spandrel Decoration with Seated Allegorical Figures of Hope and Concord
Medium
Pen and brown ink with brush and brown and gray wash, over traces of black chalk, squared in black chalk on ivory laid paper
Dimensions
18.7 × 35.5 cm (7 3/8 × 14 in.)
Classification
ink or chalk wash
Department
Prints and Drawings
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
85475
Art Historical Context
In the intricate *Spandrel Decoration with Seated Allegorical Figures Hope and Concord*, Francesco Solimena captures the grandeur of Baroque allegory through poised female figures embodying virtues central to 17th- and 18th-century European iconography. Hope, often depicted with an anchor or olive branch, and Concord, symbolizing harmony with clasped hands or a cornucopia, sit gracefully within the curved, triangular space typical of spandrels—the ornamental panels above arches in architecture. This preparatory drawing, housed in the Art Institute of Chicago's Prints and Drawings Department, m...
About the Artist
Francesco Solimena · 1657–1747
Comment on works: History; Religious