Design for a Fireplace, Antinous Room, Villa Albani, Rome, Italy

Carlo Marchionni, Italian, 1702–1786 · 1755–57

An ornate mantelpiece, decorated with sculpted reliefs of lion heads and scrolls, occupies the center of the design. A carved frame, supported by pilasters and ornamented with garlands, rosettes, and griffins terminates in a triangular pediment. The overmantel contains an antique bust of Antinous in profile lightly drawn in graphite. Flanking the mantelpiece are two men. On the right, a man who seems to be of humble origins, accompanied by a dog, crouches, holding wooden planks. On the left, a well-dressed man stands and watches, holding a walking stick.