Disegni Varij di Polifilo Zancarli (Friezes)
Medium
etching
Dimensions
Plate: 4 15/16 x 17 3/8 in. (12.6 x 44.2 cm)
Classification
Prints|Ornament & Architecture
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
The Elisha Whittelsey Collection, The Elisha Whittelsey Fund, 1949
Accession Number
49.20.13(12)
Tags
Art Historical Context
This striking series of etched friezes, titled *Disegni Varij di Polifilo Zancarli*, was created around 1625 by Polifilo Giancarli with contributions from the skilled Venetian etcher Odoardo Fialetti. Measuring just under five inches high yet extending over seventeen inches wide, these prints showcase elaborate ornamental bands populated by bears, centaurs, and swirling acanthus leaves. Designed as architectural ornament, the works reflect the period’s fascination with classical motifs reimagined through a lively Baroque sensibility. Etching proved ideal for capturing the fine, flowing lines ...
About the Artist
Polifilo Giancarli|Odoardo Fialetti (Italian|Italian) · 1600 |1573 –1625 |1638
active in Venice ca. 1600–1625|Italian, Bologna 1573–1637/38 Venice