Design for the Tabernacle of the Sistine Chapel in the Santa Maria Maggiore in Rome

Art Historical Context

This delicate pen and ink drawing byentine architect Bastiano Torrigiani captures a proposed design for the tabernacle in the Sistine Chapel of Rome's Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore, created around 1585–90. Torrigiani, active in late Renaissance Rome, specialized in ornate architectural elements, blending Florentine precision with Roman grandeur. The tabernacle—a sacred structure housing the Eucharist—was a focal point of liturgical reverence, especially in one of Christianity's most venerable basilicas, founded in the 5th century and enriched during the Counter-Reformation era. Measuring about 15½ × 10 inches, this sheet exemplifies the meticulous preparatory work essential to 16th-century architecture. Pen and ink allowed Torrigiani to render intricate details of columns, pediments, and decorative motifs with sharp lines and subtle shading, facilitating collaboration among patrons, sculptors, and builders. Though the final tabernacle may have evolved, this design reflects Mannerist tendencies toward elaborate ornamentation, emphasizing symmetry and symbolic depth in Catholic worship spaces. Housed in The Metropolitan Museum of Art's Drawings and Prints department, this anonymous gift honors the era's fusion of art, faith, and engineering. Visitors, marvel at how such a humble sketch envisioned eternal splendor!