Design for a Ceiling with Strapwork and a Cross-shaped Center

Hans Jakob Ebelmann

1609 · Etching and engraving · Drawings and Prints

This beautifully complex design is made by the German artist Hans Jakob Ebelmann. Not much is known about this artist other than the print series he produced which show designs for furniture and architecture in the very exuberant style typical for the late Renaissance in Central Europe. Based on his designs and his collaboration with the cabinetmaker Jakob Guckeisen he is presumed to have been a cabinetmaker himself. The ceiling designs he published in a series in 1609 can be considered as his finest works. They show a highly inventive combination and use of ornaments and motifs and are etched in a spontaneous yet refined manner.

Artist

Hans Jakob Ebelmann

Date

1609

Medium

Etching and engraving

Department

Drawings and Prints

Credit line

The Elisha Whittelsey Collection, The Elisha Whittelsey Fund, 1962