Ceiling Ornament, nos. CCCXXII–CCCXXVI, plate 50 from "Designs for Various Ornaments"

Michelangelo Pergolesi

February 27, 1791 · Etching; printed in dark brown ink · Drawings and Prints

This ceiling design centers on a female figure before rays, with corner rondels showing cupids riding seahorses. With sections numbered CCCXXII to CCCXXVI, the print comes from a group that Pergolesi made and published serially in London between 1777 and 1792. There is no title page, but a prospectus of ca. 1786 described the group as: "A great variety of original designs of vases, figures, medallions, friezes, pilasters, panels and other ornaments, in the Etruscan and grotesque style." The complete set contains 67 plates numbered 1-66 (two are numbered 56), with designs within the plates irregularly numbered 1-435 (in Roman numerals at first, then with Arabic numbers). In 1801, after Pergolesi's death, four additional plates of designs were published by a bookseller Dulouchamp (or Dulonchamp).

Artist

Michelangelo Pergolesi

Date

February 27, 1791

Medium

Etching; printed in dark brown ink

Department

Drawings and Prints

Credit line

Bequest of Herbert Mitchell, 2008