Unknown, Corinthian capital, elevation (recto) Unknown, Corinthian capital, plan diagram and detail (verso)
ca. 1540–60
Medium
Dark brown ink, black chalk, and incised lines
Classification
Drawings|Ornament & Architecture
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Purchase, Rogers Fund, Joseph Pulitzer Bequest, and Mark J. Millard Gift, 1968
Accession Number
68.769.23
Tags
Art Historical Context
This delicate 16th-century drawing captures a Corinthian capital—the most ornate of the classical orders—with graceful precision. Created by an anonymous French artist around 1540–60, the sheet shows an elevation view on the recto and a plan diagram with construction details on the verso. Rendered in dark brown ink over black chalk with incised lines for accuracy, it served as both a study and a practical template for architects and stone carvers during France’s Renaissance. At the time, French builders were enthusiastically reviving ancient Roman and Greek forms, adapting them to royal châte...