Design for a mausoleum in a landscape
In the mid-nineteenth century, urban Americans dramatically altered their burial practices. In response to overcrowded churchyards and sanitation concerns, burying grounds were increasingly moved outside city limits. Designed as picturesque garden landscapes, these new rural cemeteries provided opportunities for commissions of memorial art, which was often rendered in classical, Gothic, and Egyptian styles. Gothic architecture, with its ecclesiastical origins, was seen as an especially appropriate mode to convey religious sentiment. Set high on a hill against a backdrop of dark cypresses, this watercolor depiction of a Gothic Revival ciborium, or canopy, reflects both the park cemetery and architectural movements of the nineteenth century.
Artwork Details
- Title: Design for a mausoleum in a landscape
- Artist: Louis C. Tiffany (American, New York 1848–1933 New York)
- Maker: Possibly Tiffany Glass Company (1885–92)
- Maker: Possibly Tiffany Glass and Decorating Company (American, 1892–1902)
- Maker: Possibly Tiffany Studios (1902–32)
- Date: ca. 1910–30
- Geography: Made in New York, United States; Country of Origin USA
- Culture: American
- Medium: Watercolor, gouache, and graphite on paper mounted on
board - Dimensions: 29 9/16 × 21 3/4 in. (75.1 × 55.2 cm)
Mat: 32 × 25 in. (81.3 × 63.5 cm)
Framed (AW E): 33 × 26 in. (83.8 × 66 cm) - Credit Line: Purchase, Walter Hoving and Julia T. Weld Gifts and Dodge Fund, 1967
- Object Number: 67.654.21
- Curatorial Department: The American Wing
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Louis C. Tiffany
Tiffany Glass and Decorating Company
ca. 1900
Louis C. Tiffany
Tiffany Studios
1902–33
Louis C. Tiffany
Tiffany Glass and Decorating Company
ca. 1893–97
Louis C. Tiffany
Tiffany Glass and Decorating Company
ca. 1895
Louis C. Tiffany
Tiffany Glass and Decorating Company
1893–1900
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