Design for Wallpaper with Alternating Vertical Rows of Pairs of Ornamental Frames of Two Sizes Framed by Interlacing Garlands of Laurel Leaves Tied by a Bow

Design for Wallpaper with Alternating Vertical Rows of Pairs of Ornamental Frames of Two Sizes Framed by Interlacing Garlands of Laurel Leaves Tied by a Bow

Anonymous, French, 19th century

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Rectangular sheet of paper with a design for a wallpaper from the second half of the nineteenth century, inspired on the style of Louis XVI, forming part of the Neo-Classical Revival that took place in France and Britain from the 1850s on. The style was part of the Classical and Renaissance Revival that took place from about 1850, where the interest on the art and architecture from Ancient Rome and the 15th and 16th centuries was propelled by archaeological discoveries in Greece, Italy and Egypt. Through this style, Classical and Renaissance pieces of art and design were reinterpreted in a variety of forms and motifs, and classical figures, scrolling decorations, strapwork, and grotesques and moresques, became central element in design. This Revival was characterized by the use of design motifs that alluded to Classical Antiquity, including vases and trophies with pastoral attributes, classical figures and cameos, a mixture of real and fantastic figures, and swags and festoons. These swags and festoons comprised garlands of fabric and ribbon, as well as thin bundles and garlands of flowers and husks colored with pastels. The scale of this design is clearly not true to life and it is not unlikely that this drawing was made for a sample book of an upholsterer, to be shown to the customer as one of many different styles to choose from. The design, possibly for a wallpaper, consists of alternating vertical rows of pairs of ornamental frames of different sizes, colored with tones of yellow to simulate a gold finish, framed by interlacing garlands of laurel leaves tied together by a bow resting under the smaller frame on each pair. The larger ornamental frames contain scrolling motifs, and the smaller ornamental frames contain simplified traces to indicate the design of the inside. The frames are all rendered with yellow, possibly to simulate a gold finish, and the inside contents are colored alternatingly: the ornamental motifs inside the frames in the middle row are colored with brown over a beige ground, and the ornamental motifs inside the frames of the two other rows are colored with blue and red over a gold-colored ground. The ribbon bows decorating the smaller frames are colored with pink, blue and purple, alternatingly. The background consists of ornamental scrolls of pink color over a magenta ground. Traces of graphite can be seen towards the borders of the design. Some of the frames are rendered so that the details are almost complete, others are left incomplete.

Drawings and Prints

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Design for Wallpaper with Alternating Vertical Rows of Pairs of Ornamental Frames of Two Sizes Framed by Interlacing Garlands of Laurel Leaves Tied by a BowDesign for Wallpaper with Alternating Vertical Rows of Pairs of Ornamental Frames of Two Sizes Framed by Interlacing Garlands of Laurel Leaves Tied by a BowDesign for Wallpaper with Alternating Vertical Rows of Pairs of Ornamental Frames of Two Sizes Framed by Interlacing Garlands of Laurel Leaves Tied by a BowDesign for Wallpaper with Alternating Vertical Rows of Pairs of Ornamental Frames of Two Sizes Framed by Interlacing Garlands of Laurel Leaves Tied by a BowDesign for Wallpaper with Alternating Vertical Rows of Pairs of Ornamental Frames of Two Sizes Framed by Interlacing Garlands of Laurel Leaves Tied by a Bow

The Department’s vast collection of works on paper comprises approximately 21,000 drawings, 1.2 million prints, and 12,000 illustrated books created in Europe and the Americas from about 1400 to the present day. Since its foundation in 1916, the Department has been committed to collecting a wide range of works on paper, which includes both pieces that are incredibly rare and lauded for their aesthetic appeal, as well as material that is more popular, functional, and ephemeral. The broad scope of the department’s collecting encourages questions of connoisseurship as well as those pertaining to function and context, and demonstrates the vital role that prints, drawings, and illustrated books have played throughout history.