Villa Giulia, plan (composite)
early to mid-16th century
Medium
Pen and dark brown ink, brush and brown wash, over traces of black chalk, ruling and compass work, on a gathering of five sheets of paper.
Dimensions
23 1/4 x 16 1/4 in. (59 x 41.3 cm)
Classification
Drawings
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Gift of Janos Scholz and Anne Bigelow Scholz, in memory of Flying Officer Walter Bigelow Rosen, RCAF, 1949
Accession Number
49.92.73
Tags
Art Historical Context
This exquisite architectural drawing presents a composite plan of the Giulia, the opulent Renaissance villa in Rome by Pope Julius III in the 1550s. Crafted by an anonymous French artist in the early to mid16th century, it captures the era's fascination with classical antiquity and harmonious proportions, likely as a study or design proposal during the villa's planning phase. Architects like Giacomo Barozzi da Vignola and Giorgio Vasari contributed to the real Villa Giulia, blending ancient Roman villa ideals with innovative Mannerist elements—a testament to the cross-cultural exchange between...