Cherubs in a Tree
Medium
Pen and brown ink, brush and brown wash, highlighted with white gouache, on gray-brown paper (originally blue-gray)
Dimensions
19 1/2 x 5 1/4in. (49.6 x 13.3cm)
Classification
Drawings|Ornament & Architecture
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
The Elisha Whittelsey Collection, The Elisha Whittelsey Fund, 1952
Accession Number
52.570.101
Tags
Art Historical Context
Nestled among the lush branches of a tree, *Cherubs in a Tree by Giovanni Larciani—known as the "Master the Kress Landscapes"—ures a whimsical moment from the 18th century This delicate drawing, executed in pen and brown ink with brush and brown wash, heightened with white gouache on originally blue-gray paper that has aged to a warm gray-brown. Measuring a slender 19½ x 5¼ inches, its elongated format evokes a decorative frieze, perfect for ornamentation. The scene bursts with playful energy: cherubs, or cupids, frolic alongside birds amid twisting foliage, embodying the lighthearted spirit ...
About the Artist
Giovanni Larciani ("Master of the Kress Landscapes") · 1700–1800
Giovanni di Lorenzo Larciani (1484–1527), a Florentine painter known initially as the "Master of the Kress Landscapes," emerged from obscurity in the mid-1990s through the scholarship of Louis Waldman, who linked him to documents including a 1521 contract for an altarpiece. Born and active in Florence until his death, Larciani specialized in religious scenes enriched by vivid, atmospheric landscap...