We do not know who drew this delicate ink and chalk drawing. We do know, however, that it is a copy of a woodcut from a book rather famous at the time, the Second Book on Perspective by Italian architect and theorist Sebastiano Serlio (published in 1545). Today, Serlio is remembered as the author of the first architectural treatise in a modern language to be printed with illustrations, also the first to devote an entire section to the theatre. That is where we find the source image for this drawing, titled The Tragic Scene. The drawing may have been a lesson in perspective (apprentices repeatedly copied works by other artists in order to master various skills, types of compositions, or media), or a point of departure for a different composition.
Work of the Week: David Hilliard, “Wiser than Despair”
David Hilliard(American, b. 1964), Wiser Than Despair, 2012, C-print, 24 in. x 80 in. The AlfondCollection of Contemporary Art at […]
Work of the Week: Catherine Yass, “Lighthouse (North north west, distant)”
Catherine Yass (British, b. 1963), Lighthouse (North north west, distant), 2011, Photographic transparency, lightbox, 50 ¾ x 40 ¾ in., The Alfond Collection of Contemporary […]
Lavinia Fontana: The Dead Christ with Symbols of the Passion
Outside of my bias of having been trained as an Italienist, The Dead Christ with Symbols of the Passion, is […]
Work of the Week: Käthe Kollwitz, “Untitled (Mob [Family] with Dead Child)”
Käthe Kollwitz (German, 1867–1945), Untitled (“Mob [Family] with Dead Child”), n.d., Dry point etching, Gift of Mrs. Ruth Funk, Cornell Fine Arts Museum 2001.04.09.PR […]
Seductress or Rape Victim? Potiphar’s Wife in Art And Literature
One of the paintings in our current exhibition, Dangerous Women: Selections from the John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art […]
Dangerous Women: Renaissance Painters at Rollins Museum of Art
One of the rarest paintings in the Cornell Fine Arts Museum’s collection is Lavinia Fontana’s Dead Christ with Symbols of […]
A Closer Look At Our Summer Exhibitions: From Pump Manufacturing To Old Masters Paintings
How do paintings from an art-filled, Ohio home become the core of the only European Old Masters museum collection in […]
The Community of Art
Communities are defined by people: families, friends, neighbors, and colleagues who share a way of life, a place to live, […]