Artwork Page for Design for a Chalice (recto)

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Design for a Chalice (recto)

mid-1500s

Luzio Romano

(Italian, active 1528–75)
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Culture
Italy, 16th century
Medium
Black chalk, pen and brown ink, and brown wash, over black chalk, on laid paper
Support
Beige(1) laid paper laid down on cream(3) laid paper (discolored)
Measurements
Sheet: 32.1 x 20 cm (12 5/8 x 7 7/8 in.)
Credit Line
Dudley P. Allen Fund 1924.587.a
Public Domain
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Location
Not on view
Print

Description

An assistant to influential Renaissance designer Perino del Vaga (1501–1547), Luzio Romano is known primarily through the drawings he made for liturgical objects (objects used for public worship), such as this chalice, likely a goldsmith’s design. The foot is decorated with seraphim—the highest order of angels—and nude children below figures of women and pelicans on the base of the bowl, which together allude to the theological virtue of charity. A pelican piercing its breast to feed its young with its blood is also a symbol of Christ’s sacrifice on the cross, fitting for a vessel meant to hold the eucharistic wine.
Design for a chalice outlined in black ink featuring a smooth cup with an ornate stem depicting multiple levels of people supporting the cup before it flares into an octagonal shape at the base. Above winged children's heads sit three children, above whom stand two adults back-to-back, one praying and the other holding a cross between them. Above, a child is flanked by two long-necked birds with two more children above. The chalice is detailed with brown ink and hazy black chalk.

Design for a Chalice (recto)

mid-1500s

Luzio Romano

(Italian, active 1528–75)
Italy, 16th century

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