Perspectival Drawing of a Column Base with Cube

1528
Not on view
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

Object Information
  • 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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