Design for a ceiling fresco with a central depiction of Aurora
1677 - 1755
Elias van Nijmegen drafted this elaborate blueprint for a ceiling that was meant to trick the eye into seeing the sky. At the very center, the goddess Aurora flies through the clouds to bring the dawn, surrounded by a fake architectural frame of swirling stucco and cherubs. This kind of drawing was essential for Dutch decorators in the 18th century, allowing them to plan out complex illusionistic ceilings before committing paint to plaster. It’s a beautiful example of how Baroque art loved to blur the line between a flat surface and a three-dimensional world.
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