Section of a Columbarium 1710 - 1727

This section of a columbarium was drawn on paper, by Pietro Paolo Coccetti, sometime in the 18th century. The artist created it with pen and brown ink, with brown wash over graphite. We see the section of a building with rows of niches, each designed to hold funerary urns. The drawing's sepia tones, rendered in ink, lend it an aura of antiquity and solemnity, fitting for its subject. The meticulous cross-hatching suggests a careful study of light and shadow, giving depth to the architectural form. The grid-like structure speaks to the Roman emphasis on order and efficiency. The use of ink and wash allowed Coccetti to achieve a high level of detail, capturing the texture of the stone and the play of light across its surface. The emphasis here is clearly not on naturalism but on the communication of ideas and architectural forms. Drawings like this straddle the line between craft and fine art, serving both a practical function in architectural design and an aesthetic one as works of art in their own right.