Perspectival Drawing of a Column Base with Cube
For Renaissance artists, the representation of geometry was often a means of testing and perfecting their ability to work convincingly in perspective. A common trope was to rotate forms or stack them against or atop one another as a means of displaying the maker’s skill at visualizing an object from multiple angles within a single image. Here, a hollow rectangular cuboid balances on an ornamental plinth, presenting perspectival geometry as the modern paradigm of beauty and proportion.
Artwork Details
- Title: Perspectival Drawing of a Column Base with Cube
- Artist: Peter Flötner (German, Thurgau 1485–1546 Nuremberg)
- Date: 1528
- Medium: Pen and black ink, brush and gray wash
- Dimensions: sheet: 4 1/4 x 3 3/4 in. (10.8 x 9.5 cm)
- Classification: Drawings
- Credit Line: Purchase, Jean A. Bonna Gift, 2007
- Object Number: 2007.223.3
- Curatorial Department: Drawings and Prints
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