Design for an Altar 17th century

This is an anonymous drawing for an altar, rendered in pen and brown ink, now held at the Metropolitan Museum. Dominating the structure is the arch, a potent symbol from antiquity onwards, representing both triumph and transition. Think back to the Roman triumphal arches and their echo in Early Christian art to frame mosaics of Christ. The arch is a threshold, a portal between the earthly and the divine. This design includes classical columns, symbols of strength and stability, and recall ancient temples but are repurposed here to support a Christian sacred space. We see them echoed in the Renaissance, where the rediscovery of classical forms embodies a longing for a golden age. The arch, like much of our cultural inheritance, follows a non-linear path, resurfacing in different guises, each time imbued with new meanings, yet forever tethered to the collective memory of its origins. The emotions stirred by such symbols bypass conscious thought, resonating with subconscious echoes of ages past.