Part four of six

The North Italian Album and the drawings in the Rothschild collection are part of a network of artworks that demonstrate a consistent engagement with architectural design on the part of craftsmen.

The albums by painter Jacopo Bellini (1440-1470) are further instances of artists’ commitment to architecture, which was especially pronounced in Northern Italy from the late fourteenth century.

At first sight, these collections appear as model books gathering ideas for architectural settings, created by artists for artists as a way to speed up production. Yet the quality of these drawings, executed to a polished state on expensive parchment or heavy white paper, suggests that they were cherished productions, probably realised to showcase ingenuity and attract patrons. 

On one side, some of these drawings appear as fully-fledged design proposals. On the other, the variety of solutions they present and the level of their accomplishment testify to the broad appeal of architectural forms beyond construction.

Jacopo Bellini 
Palace (Christ among the Doctors)
Silver and lead point on parchment 
c. 1440-1470
RF 1484-14-folio 1; 1485-15-folio 17 
Musée du Louvre, Paris. 
© GrandPalaisRmn (Musée du Louvre) / Gérard Blot

This palace stands out for its ground-floor loggia and sculptural decoration, which includes free-standing figures in niches as well as low reliefs. The triangular roof completes the façade like a pediment, though the wooden beams visible through the windows suggest that it is not a decorative element but an integral part of the structure. This demonstrates Jacopo Bellini’s attention to seemingly mundane aspects of architecture.

Hand unknown
Palace façade
Ink and pigment on parchment 
c. 1500
North Italian Album, SM volume 122/24 
Sir John Soane’s Museum, London 

The palace’s four storeys are all demarcated by different structural and ornamental solutions, from the ground-floor loggias and the first floors’ arched windows framed by twisted columns and statues of putti, to the polychrome masonry of the third storey and the brickwork of the fourth. With its loggias, rows of arched windows, and highly decorative crenellation, this structure is especially evocative of Venetian palaces. Rather than a private residence, the size and opulence of this design suggest a governmental building.

Hand unknown
Palace façade
Pen and ink on vellum  
c. 1500 
Inv. 857 DR/1 recto, Rothschild Collection 
Musée du Louvre, Paris 
© GrandPalaisRmn (Musée du Louvre) / Thierry Le Mage

The piers supporting the ground-floor arches in this palace design are stacked, and the eye is drawn to them by pilasters supporting free-standing sculptures. The decorative density of this palace exceeds any built example of this building type, bringing together classical elements (ox skulls, SPQR inscription, historiated panels) with typically Venetian solutions (ground-floor loggia, round openings, decorative parapets). Like the other palace façades in this section, this drawing showcases an innovative and ambitious design for potential patrons.

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