Design for the right half of a chimneypiece. Artist: Anonymous, Italian, 17th century. Dimensions: 11 7/16 x 3 5/16 in. (29 x 8.4 cm) maximum dimensions; strip has been added to the top. Date: 17th century.By the seventeenth century, chimneypieces had become an important object of design within the interior. Examples in late Renaissance and early Baroque styles were often highly sculptural, heavily ornate and very colorful feats of design bravura. The love for the theatrical, which characterized the Baroque period, meant that a certain level of monumentality was pursued. In that respect, these two drawings show designs of a relatively modest nature, although colored marbled and gilding could transform their final look dramatically. Museum: Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, USA.