Plate 7: a cartouche with the mask of an ogre at top center, scrollwork to either side, from 'Twelve cartouches' (Recueil de douze cartouches)

Art Historical Context

This delicate etching from around 1640–45 belongs to Stefano della Bella’s series “Twelve Cartouches,” published by François Langlois and printed by François Collignon. The small print, just over three inches tall, presents an ornamental cartouche crowned by the fierce mask of an ogre. Flanking scrollwork unfurls in lively curves, typical of the playful grotesques that adorned Baroque pattern books. Created as an etching in its second state, the work showcases the medium’s ability to render crisp lines and intricate details on a miniature scale. In the seventeenth century, such ornamental pri...