ticketsMember | Make a donation

Allegory of History, with Time

1761
Not on view
The allegorical figure of the History is represented as a winged figure looking backward as she writes on a tablet supported by Time. In a letter of November 16, 1987, Professor Renato Roli kindly assured the Museum that the old annotation on the verso of the drawing is accurate. Thus, the drawing is a study for one of the allegories painted in chiaroscuro on the walls of a room on the ground floor of the Casa Bovi Tacconi in Bologna, now used as a photographic studio. Most of the wall frescoes have disappeared under layers of whitewash. Only two allegories have survived, although heavily repainted, and Roli points out that in one of these chiaroscuri, facial types and framing motifs are comparable to the Museum's drawing. Bigari's ceiling fresco, representing Apollo crowning a figure of Painting, is intact (Roli 1977, pis. 69a and 69b). A drawing in pen and ink with watercolor for the ceiling fresco and part of its illustionistic architectural framework is in a private collection in Bologna (R. Roli, Settecento Emiliano, 1979, no. 178, fig. 260).

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Allegory of History, with Time
  • Artist: Vittorio Maria Bigari (Italian, Bologna 1692–1776 Bologna)
  • Date: 1761
  • Medium: Black chalk, stumped, highlighted with white chalk, on dark blue paper
  • Dimensions: 21-1/16 x 16-3/4 in. (53.5 x 42.5 cm)
  • Classification: Drawings
  • Credit Line: Harry G. Sperling Fund, 1979
  • Object Number: 1979.286.1
  • Curatorial Department: Drawings and Prints

More Artwork

More Artwork
A slider containing 5 items.
Press the down key to skip to the last item.
Design for a Quarter of a Trompe L'Oeil Ceiling with Architecture in the Ionic Order and a Statue of Victory, Vittorio Maria Bigari Italian, Pen and brown ink, brush and gray wash, over graphite
Design for a Quarter of a Trompe L'Oeil Ceiling with Architecture in the Ionic Order and a Statue of Victory
Vittorio Maria Bigari
ca. 1710–40
Design for a Decorated Ceiling with Statues and Stucco, Vittorio Maria Bigari Italian, Pen and light brown ink, brush and gray wash, over leadpoint
Design for a Decorated Ceiling with Statues and Stucco
Vittorio Maria Bigari
18th century
Marie Antoinette in a Park, Elisabeth Louise Vigée Le Brun French, Black chalk, stumped, and white chalk; framing lines in black chalk
Marie Antoinette in a Park
Elisabeth Louise Vigée Le Brun
Marie Antoinette, Queen of France
ca. 1780–81
Youth Playing a Pipe for a Satyr, Giovanni Benedetto Castiglione (Il Grechetto) Italian, Brush with colored oil paint; paper partly saturated with oil; lined
Youth Playing a Pipe for a Satyr
Giovanni Benedetto Castiglione (Il Grechetto)
1645–50
Scalinata della Trinità dei Monti, Giovanni Paolo Panini Italian, Pen and black ink, brush and gray wash, watercolor, over graphite
Scalinata della Trinità dei Monti
Giovanni Paolo Panini
ca. 1756–58

Related Content

Publications

Books, guides, and catalogues published by The Met.

Research Resources

The Met provides unparalleled resources for research and welcomes an international community of students and scholars. The Met's Open Access API is where creators and researchers can connect to the The Met collection. Open Access data and public domain images are available for unrestricted commercial and noncommercial use without permission or fee.

To request images under copyright and other restrictions, please use this Image Request form.

Feedback

We continue to research and examine historical and cultural context for objects in The Met collection. If you have comments or questions about this object record, please complete and submit this form. The Museum looks forward to receiving your comments.