Suggestion for Marble & Mosaic Floor
This drawing includes three suggestions for a marble and mosaic floor for the private room of Mrs. Genevieve M. Stevenson (ca. 1875–1941) in the Rosehill Community Mausoleum in Chicago. Tiffany was strongly inspired by Islamic decorative elements and symbolism in these designs. In Islamic art, paradise is depicted as a walled garden sheltered under an arched gateway—the entrance to heaven. The arch seen in Scheme A represents either this gateway or a mihrab, a prayer niche used in mosques and represented frequently on prayer rugs, which inspired this drawing. The tree and its branches represent the stages of the soul’s ascent to heaven, while birds act as the soul’s guides, connecting earth and heaven through flight.
Artwork Details
- Title: Suggestion for Marble & Mosaic Floor
- Artist: Louis C. Tiffany (American, New York 1848–1933 New York)
- Maker: Louis C. Tiffany Studios Corporation, 1932-ca. 1938
- Date: ca. 1932–33
- Geography: Made in New York, United States; Country of Origin USA
- Culture: American
- Medium: Watercolor, gouache, and graphite on off-white wove paper
- Dimensions: Other (Design): 19 1/4 × 11 13/16 in. (48.9 × 30 cm)
Mat: 28 × 22 in. (71.1 × 55.9 cm)
Frame (AW D): 30 1/2 × 24 1/2 in. (77.5 × 62.2 cm) - Credit Line: Purchase, Walter Hoving and Julia T. Weld Gifts and Dodge Fund, 1967
- Object Number: 67.654.439
- Curatorial Department: The American Wing
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