Five designs for a cross, ca. 1470 – 1490

About the Work

Exhibiting quite some detail, these pen and ink drawings from the circle of Andrea Mantegna are thought to have been executed in the 1480s. Since they were later cut out, their original context is no longer known and we can only speculate as to their intended function. They may have served as studies for three-dimensional works of goldsmithery. In fifteenth-century Italy, small processional crosses with relief figures on either end were quite widespread. It is also conceivable that the drawings were used as models for enamelwork (niello) or for printed graphic reproductions.