Ontwerp voor een hemelbed 1698

This is Filippo Passarini’s design for a bed, made as an engraving. It is a drawing for a letto a baldacchino, the kind of highly ornamented state bed reserved for the use of the very highest ranks of society. It is as much a symbolic throne as it is a functional place to sleep. Its visual vocabulary is entirely rooted in religious iconography. We see angels supporting the canopy, and a halo of light emanating from the headboard. This kind of design flourished in seventeenth-century Italy, where the Catholic Church continued to be a central force. As an institution, it was also preoccupied with the demonstration of power through visual spectacle. To fully understand the image, it is important to understand the political role of the Church in this period. Was Passarini making a comment on the Church? Was he commissioned by the Church to create this design? These are the questions that the art historian might ask as they consult historical records of the period. The meaning of an artwork always depends on its social and institutional context.