Grotto from the Gardens of the Farnese Palace at Caprarola, Preparatory Study for the 'Oeuvres Complètes de Jacques Barozzi de Vignole'

Grotto from the Gardens of the Farnese Palace at Caprarola, Preparatory Study for the 'Oeuvres Complètes de Jacques Barozzi de Vignole'

François Debret

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Architectural drawing of one of the grottoes in the gardens the Farnese palace of Caprarola. It presents three views placed one above the other: one section of the wall, a floor plan, and the frontal elevation. The drawing is a preparatory study for an overview portfolio of the works of the Italian Renaissance architect Jacopo Barozzi da Vignola. The hatching for the printing process has been indicated meticulously and certain parts of the drawing have been embellished with water color. Inscriptions are added by hand and include precise measurements of the individual architectural elements. Francois Debret was a student of the famous architect duo Percier and Fontaine. Aside from working as an architect in his own right, Debret was also named the chief architect and inspector general of civil buildings of the city of Paris, in which capacity he restored and maintained some of the city’s most important architectural monuments.

Drawings and Prints

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Grotto from the Gardens of the Farnese Palace at Caprarola, Preparatory Study for the 'Oeuvres Complètes de Jacques Barozzi de Vignole'Grotto from the Gardens of the Farnese Palace at Caprarola, Preparatory Study for the 'Oeuvres Complètes de Jacques Barozzi de Vignole'Grotto from the Gardens of the Farnese Palace at Caprarola, Preparatory Study for the 'Oeuvres Complètes de Jacques Barozzi de Vignole'Grotto from the Gardens of the Farnese Palace at Caprarola, Preparatory Study for the 'Oeuvres Complètes de Jacques Barozzi de Vignole'Grotto from the Gardens of the Farnese Palace at Caprarola, Preparatory Study for the 'Oeuvres Complètes de Jacques Barozzi de Vignole'

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.