Elevation of a Planned Double Tomb for the Magnifici, Medici Chapel

What it is

This is a printed plate in a bound album showing an engraved elevation of a wall tomb, with architectural niches, reclining figures, a central arched niche holding a seated figure, and a medallion at the top. The original design is held by the Albertina Museum in Austria and is linked to Michelangelo or his workshop.

Why it matters

Michelangelo was both a sculptor and architect, and this sheet shows his process of planning a grand tomb monument for the Medici family. Drawings like this reveal how artists of his time worked out complex architecture and sculpture together before building began.

Look closer

• What parts of the design are architecture, and what parts are sculpture?
• Why might a tomb for a powerful family be so elaborate?
• What might this drawing not tell us about how the final tomb actually looked?