Ontwerp voor grafkapel met aan weerszijden een tombe 1590 - 1640

Cigoli rendered this sepia toned drawing of a chapel and tomb design sometime between 1579 and 1613. During Cigoli's lifetime, the Catholic Church was a major patron of the arts, using art and architecture to reinforce its power and influence. This design reflects the opulence and grandeur associated with religious structures of the period. The design incorporates classical elements like columns and arches which were used to evoke a sense of timeless authority. Who was this tomb for? What person or family did Cigoli envision being memorialized within this space? The figures which adorn the exterior hint at the importance of specific religious identities in the 16th and 17th centuries. As the viewer imagines entering this sacred space, they may reflect on the performative aspects of death and mourning in the early modern period.