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Arabesque Panel with Grotesques and Animals

Italian

Artwork Details

Arabesque Panel with Grotesques and Animals
2nd half of 16th century
Italian
graphite, pen and brown ink with ink wash, mounted
4 15/16 in x 3 ½ in (12.54 cm x 8.89 cm);19 3/10 in x 14 3/10 in (49.05 cm x 36.35 cm);5 ½ in x 4 3/16 in (13.97 cm x 10.64 cm);5 ⅛ in x 3 ½ in (13.02 cm x 8.89 cm)
Museum Purchase
1963/2.7

Tags

Description

Gallery Rotation Spring 2013
Anonymous
Italy
Arabescque Panel with Grotesques and Animals
2nd half of 16th century
Graphite, pen and brown ink with ink wash, mounted
Museum purchase, 1963/2.7
Etienne Delaune
France, 1518/9–1583
Two designs for jewelry
Mid-16th century
Graphite, pen and brown ink with
yellow watercolor, mounted
Museum purchase, 1963/2.6A
Symmetry in design, technical precision, and emphasis on detail characterize these two decorative drawings. One presents a design for a panel and the other designs for two small pieces of jewelry. The panel design is embellished with interlacing foliate patterns and creatures morphing into vegetal motifs, popular in Italy during the second half of the sixteenth century, and was perhaps intended to decorate an object or architecture. The two elegant and detailed jewelry designs by Etienne Delaune, who worked as a goldsmith for King Henry II of France (reigned 1547–59), likewise present symmetrically arranged vegetal and organic forms. They were meant to be executed in precious metals, pearls, and gems, and to serve either as hatpins or hair pieces.

Physical Description:

A decorative design based on curving arabesque forms around a central axis also incorporates gortesque figures.

Usage Rights:

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