Architectural Capriccio 1780 - 1800

Jean Henri Alexandre Pernet’s *Architectural Capriccio* (1780-1800) showcases the artist’s fascination with architectural ruins. The drawing, housed in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, depicts a fantastical, yet believable, scene of classical ruins overgrown with foliage. The composition is framed by a decorative oval border, drawing attention to the central architectural fantasy, a hallmark of the architectural capriccio genre. Pernet, born in 1763 and unfortunately passing away in 1789, produced several of these imaginative architectural studies, which are appreciated for their romantic depiction of imagined classical worlds.