Plan your visit. 225 Madison Avenue at 36th Street, New York, NY 10016.

Plan your visit. 225 Madison Avenue at 36th Street, New York, NY 10016.

An Architectural Sculpture Court

French School
17th century

An Architectural Sculpture Court

9 3/8 x 13 1/8 inches (238 x 334 mm)
Pen and brown ink and wash, on paper.
1982.75:223

Gift of Mrs. Donald M. Oenslager, 1982.

Notes
This design for an architectural fantasy or stage set takes as its focus a fountain with Hercules and his nephew (and chariot-driver) Iolaus wrestling the water-serpent, Hydra. At left and right are equestrian groups on pedestals. The fountain is set in a courtyard before a palace with a double staircase. At left is a round temple and a rusticated pavilion, while at right is a crenellated structure, a building with two towers flanking an arch and balcony, and a Cornithian column surmounted by a putto with a wreath. The scene has not been connected to any performance or project, and some scholars, including Jerome de la Gorce, have expressed doubts that it is by a French artist.
Associated names
Mathews, Alister, former owner.
Oenslager, Donald, 1902-1975, former owner.
Artist
Classification
Century Drawings
School
Department