Workshop of Antonio Asprucci (1723–1808)
Design for the Altar of the Cappella Paolina, ca. 1760
Pen, black ink, and watercolor over black chalk on paper
11 5/8 × 20 in. (295 × 507 mm)
Cooper-Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum, Smithsonian Institution, New York
Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum / Art Resource, NY
This is probably Asprucci’s presentation model for the altar of the Borghese Chapel in Santa Maria Maggiore. Two different options are given for the marble decoration. The final altar was decorated with a third color scheme not shown in this drawing. Work on the chapel continued under the supervision of Prince Camillo Borghese’s son, Marcantonio IV, one of Valadier’s great patrons.