Suggestion for Marble & Mosaic Floor

Louis C. Tiffany|Louis C. Tiffany Studios Corporation, 1932-ca. 1938

ca. 1932–33 · Watercolor, gouache, and graphite on off-white wove paper · The American Wing

This drawing includes three suggestions for a marble and mosaic floor for the private room of Mrs. Genevieve M. Stevenson (ca. 1875–1941) in the Rosehill Community Mausoleum in Chicago. Tiffany was strongly inspired by Islamic decorative elements and symbolism in these designs. In Islamic art, paradise is depicted as a walled garden sheltered under an arched gateway—the entrance to heaven. The arch seen in Scheme A represents either this gateway or a mihrab, a prayer niche used in mosques and represented frequently on prayer rugs, which inspired this drawing. The tree and its branches represent the stages of the soul’s ascent to heaven, while birds act as the soul’s guides, connecting earth and heaven through flight.

Artist

Louis C. Tiffany|Louis C. Tiffany Studios Corporation, 1932-ca. 1938

Date

ca. 1932–33

Medium

Watercolor, gouache, and graphite on off-white wove paper

Culture

American

Department

The American Wing

Credit line

Purchase, Walter Hoving and Julia T. Weld Gifts and Dodge Fund, 1967