Urn in front of a niche
Medium
Drawing
Classification
Drawing
Department
Smithsonian Collection
Museum
Smithsonian American Art Museum
Credit
Museum purchase through gift of various donors and from Eleanor G. Hewitt Fund
Accession Number
1938-88-7326
Rights
Public Domain
About this artwork
Research in Progress
Art Historical Context
Giuseppe Barberi, a prominent Italian architect and designer active in Rome during the late 18th century, created *Urn in front of niche* around 1775. This delicate drawing exemplifies the Neoclassical movement's fascination with ancient Roman motifs, where urns—symbols of funerary art and classical grandeur—and niches (recessed wall spaces) were staples in architecture and interior decoration. Barberi, for his engraved pattern books of ornamental designs, likely produced this as a study for sculptural or architectural elements, reflecting the era's revival of antiquity amid Enlightenment idea...