Two bed canopies
Classification
interiors
Department
Smithsonian Collection
Museum
Smithsonian American Art Museum
Credit
Museum purchase through gift of various donors and from Eleanor G. Hewitt Fund
Accession Number
1938-88-1742
Rights
Public Domain
About this artwork
Research in Progress
Art Historical Context
Giuseppe Barberi, a Italian architect and designer active Rome during the late th century, created these *Two Bed Canopies* around 1790. Working in the Neoclassical style, Barberi drew inspiration from ancient Roman architecture, blending symmetry, proportion, and classical motifs into elegant furniture and interior designs. His works often appeared in pattern books, influencing decorators across Europe during a time when opulent bedrooms symbolized status among the nobility and emerging bourgeoisie. Bed canopies, or *baldacchini*, were essential features of grand interiors, providing both pr...