Grotesques Designs with Various Inscriptions (recto); Candelabra Grotesque and Two Putti Holding Flowers (verso)
ca. 1545–60
Medium
Pen and dark gray-brown ink (recto). On off-white paper. Pen and brown ink over traces of black chalk underdrawing (verso). Drawing on verso pricked on figures of putti and shells below them
Dimensions
13-1/4 x 9 in. (33.7 x 22.9 cm)
Classification
Drawings|Ornament & Architecture
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
The Elisha Whittelsey Collection, The Elisha Whittelsey Fund, 1952
Accession Number
52.570.329
Tags
Art Historical Context
Created around 1545–60 by artist Andrés de Melgar *Grotesques Designs with Inscriptions (recto); Candelabra Grotesque Two Putti Holding Flowersverso)* showcases the whimsical ornamental style that captivated Renaissance Europe. On the recto, intricate pen and dark gray-brown ink sketches blend mythical creatures, musical instruments, decorative motifs, interspersed with inscriptions on off-white paper. The verso a lively candelabra grotesque—those fantastical, intertwined forms inspired by ancient Roman frescoes—rendered in brown ink over black chalk underdrawing, with playful putti (cherubic ...