Studies for the Nave and Narthex of San Giovanni in Laterano, Rome (recto and verso)

Francesco Borromini Italian

Not on view

Borromini proved himself a master of Baroque architecture, using the dancing rhythm of geometric shapes to create the dramatic facades and ceilings characteristic of the seventeenth-century Roman cityscape. The 1546 commission to renovate the interior of San Giovanni in Laterano was one of the most prestigious of his career but also one of the most trying. Throughout the design process, he faced the constraints of the preexisting building, which was to remain intact. Many studies on paper, such as this sheet, were therefore necessary for Borromini to find the ideal solutions. Drawings of this type by artists of Borromini's stature only rarely appear on the art market, and this sheet, acquired in 2013, was the first drawing by his hand to enter the Museum's collection.

Studies for the Nave and Narthex of San Giovanni in Laterano, Rome (recto and verso), Francesco Borromini (Italian, Bissone near Lugano 1599–1667 Rome), Black chalk (recto); pen and brown ink and black chalk (verso)

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Studies for the Nave and Narthex of San Giovanni in Laterano, Rome (recto and verso), Francesco Borromini (Italian, Bissone near Lugano 1599–1667 Rome), Black chalk (recto); pen and brown ink and black chalk (verso)
Studies for the Nave and Narthex of San Giovanni in Laterano, Rome (recto and verso), Francesco Borromini (Italian, Bissone near Lugano 1599–1667 Rome), Black chalk (recto); pen and brown ink and black chalk (verso)

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