Section of Michelangelo's Model for St. Peter's Attic and Dome

What it is

This is a pen and ink drawing made by Etienne DuPérac in the mid-1500s, showing a half-section of the attic and dome of St Peter's Basilica as Michelangelo designed it. It includes detail studies of mouldings and cornices. The drawing is held at The Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Why it matters

Michelangelo designed the dome and attic of St Peter's Basilica, one of the most important buildings of the Renaissance, but he died before it was finished. Drawings like this one, made from his model by another artist, are key records of what he intended the building to look like. They let historians understand his architectural ideas even though the building changed hands after his death.

Look closer

• Why might an engraving made after Michelangelo's death be useful evidence of his design?
• What do the separate detail studies tell you about how careful the recording of the design needed to be?
• What might this drawing leave out about how the dome was actually built?