Design in Elevation for the Façade of a Building 1590 - 1610

Editor: We're looking at a drawing titled "Design in Elevation for the Façade of a Building" from around 1590 to 1610, by Cigoli. It’s ink on paper, a beautiful architectural study. I'm struck by its delicate precision, almost as if I am holding an architect’s intimate thoughts. What do you see in this piece, something perhaps beyond just a building's blueprint? Curator: It's a whisper from the Renaissance, isn't it? More than just a design, I see a yearning for grandeur, a very human desire to create spaces that resonate with meaning. Look at the layered facades; it’s like Cigoli is building a stage set for life, for grand pronouncements and quiet contemplations. It also speaks of artistic ego; notice how he intricately weaves symbolic flourishes and figures, practically singing, "This is how it’s done!” Do you think he ever envisioned the structures being built, or if it was the concept of a perfect building that interested him more? Editor: That’s a compelling thought. The perfection of the idea over the practicality of execution... Maybe it's about the *dream* of architecture, more so than bricks and mortar. It’s kind of romantic. Curator: Exactly. It also highlights how much architecture during the Renaissance, especially Italian Renaissance, wasn’t just about creating buildings, but creating art. Perhaps it asks us, even now, what spaces we truly yearn to inhabit – both physically and in our minds. And it’s just a beautiful study, look at those washes of ink! Editor: I never thought about architecture as a kind of portraiture, revealing the artist's ambitions so directly. I'll definitely view architectural drawings differently now!