Candelabrum with Two Victory Figures (for 'Ornamenti Diversi')

Giocondo (Giuseppe) Albertolli

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Giocondo Albertolli was one of the great minds of architecture and design during the neoclassical period in Italy. He was appointed professor of architectural ornament at the Accademia di Belli Arti di Brera (Milan) and further instructed and spread his ideas through four important print publications. The first one, published in 1782, was simply called ‘Ornamenti Diversi’ (Various Ornaments). This design for a candelabrum with two Victory figures is the preparatory drawing for one of the prints in this album. Characteristic for his works is the sculptural quality of his rendering, making it easy to understand and visualize the intended relief in the executed work. The subtitle to the album, ‘invented, drawn and executed by Giocondo Albertolli’, indicates that the candelabrum was in fact realized, and not just an idea on paper. The marble or perhaps bronze pendant to this design has not been identified so far however.

Drawings and Prints

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

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.

Metropolitan Museum of Art