Design for a Gothic Fountain

c. 1470

Master W with the Key

(Netherlandish, active about 1465–1490)

Culture

Flanders

Medium

engraving

Measurements

Platemark: 23.3 x 7.5 cm (9 3/16 x 2 15/16 in.); Sheet: 23.6 x 10.8 cm (9 5/16 x 4 1/4 in.)

Credit Line

Dudley P. Allen Fund 1937.565

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Location

Not on view

Description

Many early engravers used the medium to create motifs for craftsmen. The design for this Gothic fountain calls for the work to be executed in gold or silver and for scented water to spout from the gargoyle heads into the square, carved basins below. Like the great majority of prints by Master W with a Key, this sheet illustrating a design for a fountain is very rare, and only a few impressions are known. Offset on the verso is the faint image of a ship, a subject that inspired eight other engravings.