Perspectival Drawing of an Armchair
1500–1546
Medium
Pen and black ink, brush and gray wash
Dimensions
sheet: 2 7/16 x 1 11/16 in. (6.2 x 4.3 cm)
Classification
Drawings
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Purchase, Jean A. Bonna Gift, 2007
Accession Number
2007.223.2
Rights
Public Domain
Tags
Art Historical Context
Peter Flötner’s *Perspectival Drawing of Armchair* (ca. 1500–1546) captures the Northern Renaissance fascination with precise spatial representation in a remarkably compact sheet of pen and black ink heightened with brush and gray wash Measuring just 2 7/16 x 1 11/16 inches, this intimate drawing exemplifies Flötner’s role as a pioneering German designer and engraver, who bridged late Gothic traditions with emerging Renaissance ideals. Active in Nuremberg, a hub of artistic innovation, Flötner created patterns for furniture, metalwork, and prints, influencing the decorative arts across Europe....
About the Artist
Peter Flötner · 1485–1546
Peter Flötner (c. 1485–1546) was a German sculptor, ornament designer, and medalist whose work played a central role in the transmission of Italian Renaissance decorative vocabulary into the German-speaking lands. Though his exact origins remain uncertain — he may have trained in Augsburg before settling permanently in Nuremberg around 1522 — his formation evidently included exposure to Italian Re...