A Grotto
Medium
Etching
Dimensions
Sheet (trimmed): 11 11/16 × 17 1/16 in. (29.7 × 43.3 cm)
Classification
Prints
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Edward Pearce Casey Fund, 1988
Accession Number
1988.1138
Tags
Art Historical Context
Step into the whimsical world of *A Grotto*, an exquisite etching from around 1545 by Italian masters Antonio Fantuzzi and Francesco Primaticcio. This collaborative print, measuring nearly 12 by 17 inches, captures a fantastical architectural fantasy filled with intricate arches and ornate buildings, evoking the playful, decorative "grottesche" style inspired by ancient Roman discoveries. Housed in the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Drawings and Prints department, it exemplifies the Mannerist elegance these artists brought to France. Fantuzzi and Primaticcio were key figures in the First School...