Design for a Mantlepiece

A pen and brown wash design for a classical fireplace. A seated female figure holding a wreath and palm branch rises above the mantel shelf, flanked by swags, a mask, and two reclining figures. Two standing male figures serve as caryatid-like supports at either side of the opening.

Look closer: A lion's head mask sits at the center of the garland below the seated figure.

Artist

Christian Gottlob Mietzsch

Date

mid-18th–late 18th century

Medium

Pen and brown ink, brush and light brown wash over traces of black chalk.

Source

The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Size

2435 × 3500 px

Credit (appreciated, not required for public-domain works): The Metropolitan Museum of Art, The Elisha Whittelsey Collection, The Elisha Whittelsey Fund, 1955