The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of September 27, 2023

Design for a Gothic Fountain

c. 1470

Master W with the Key

(Flemish)

Flanders, 15th century

Engraving

Platemark: 23.3 x 7.5 cm (9 3/16 x 2 15/16 in.); Sheet: 23.6 x 10.8 cm (9 5/16 x 4 1/4 in.)

Dudley P. Allen Fund 1937.565

Location

not on view

Description

Many early engravers used the medium to create motifs for craftsmen. The design for this Gothic fountain calls for the work to be executed in gold or silver and for scented water to spout from the gargoyle heads into the square, carved basins below. Like the great majority of prints by Master W with a Key, this sheet illustrating a design for a fountain is very rare, and only a few impressions are known. Offset on the verso is the faint image of a ship, a subject that inspired eight other engravings.

Citations
The Cleveland Museum of Art. The Cleveland Museum of Art Handbook. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1958. Mentioned and Reproduced: cat. no. 638 archive.org
The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1966. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1966. Reproduced: p. 70 archive.org
The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1969. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1969. Reproduced: p. 70 archive.org
The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1978. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1978. Reproduced: p. 79 archive.org
Exhibition history

The Silver Jubilee Exhibition. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (June 23-September 28, 1941).

Department of Prints and Drawings Opening Exhibition. The Cleveland Museum of Art (organizer) (March 3, 1958-October 11, 1959).

Prints and Drawings from the Cleveland Museum of Art Collection. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (May 6-September 9, 1965).

Old Master Prints and Drawings. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (July 29, 1966-February 28, 1967).

Sacred and Profane in Late Gothic Prints. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (June 2-August 2, 1987).

Design and Decoration: Ornament Prints. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (August 7-October 28, 1990).

Treasures on Paper from the Collection of the Cleveland Museum of Art. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (March 9-June 8, 2014).

Source URL: https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1937.565