Design for a Painted Wall Decoration for Palazzo Massimo all'Aracoeli (Rome)
Although registered as a painter at the Roman Accademia di San Luca, Basilio Briccio seems to have mainly been active as an architect. He worked together with his sister Plautilla who is one of the first female architects known to have worked in Italy. This drawing was made for one of Briccio’s lesser known projects: the decoration of a wall in the Palazzo of the ‘Signori Massimi’ in Rome (now destroyed). Presented are trompe l’oeil paintings of marble classical sculptures in niches against a wall with garden access. The artist used this sheet as a presentation drawing to show his patrons what it would look like. The same drawing was subsequently used as a contract between artist and patron. With their signatures in the lower left corner, they both agreed that the executed project would resemble the design as presented in this drawing.
Artwork Details
- Title: Design for a Painted Wall Decoration for Palazzo Massimo all'Aracoeli (Rome)
- Artist: Basilio Briccio (Italian, Rome 1621–1692 Rome)
- Date: 1683
- Medium: Pen and ink with green and gray wash, highlighted with white gouache
- Dimensions: 8 5/8 x 16 5/8in. (21.9 x 42.2cm)
- Classifications: Drawings, Ornament & Architecture
- Credit Line: The Elisha Whittelsey Collection, The Elisha Whittelsey Fund, 1954
- Object Number: 54.648.3
- Curatorial Department: Drawings and Prints
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