Design for a Wall Monument
ca. 1490
Medium
Pen and brown ink, brush and brown wash, blue gouache, on vellum
Dimensions
7 1/4 x 7 1/4 in. (18.4 x 18.4 cm)
Classification
Drawings
Department
Robert Lehman Collection
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Robert Lehman Collection, 1975
Accession Number
1975.1.376
Tags
Art Historical Context
Francesco di Giorgio Martini, a leading figure of the Italian Renaissance, created this compact yet intricate design around 1490. Active in Siena and beyond, Martini was celebrated not only as a painter and sculptor but also as an architect and military engineer. His drawings often served as blueprints for grander projects, reflecting the era’s renewed interest in classical forms and humanist ideals of commemoration. Executed in pen and brown ink with delicate washes and blue gouache on vellum, the square sheet exemplifies the refined draftsmanship prized in late-fifteenth-century workshops. ...
About the Artist
Francesco di Giorgio Martini
Francesco di Giorgio Martini (1439–1501) was a quintessential Renaissance polymath from Siena, Italy, excelling as a painter, sculptor, architect, engineer, and theorist in the Sienese School tradition. Baptized on September 23, 1439, to a poultry dealer named Francesco Maurizio di Giorgio di Martino, his early life remains sparsely documented, with the first record of his artistic activity appear...