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A Grotesque Panel (from "De Grotesco ......)

A Grotesque Panel (from "De Grotesco ......)

Artist: Johan Barrà (Dutch | Flemish, 1581-1634)
Date: 1623
Dimensions:
5 x 3 3/8 in.
Medium: Engraving
Place of Origin: Flanders
Classification: Prints
Credit Line: Gift of Geoffrey R. Bennett
Object number: 1962.43
Label Text:
In this print a fantastical stem sprouts from the body of a composite beast at the bottom and arcs upward, resulting in a flower-like structure from which a stamen, perhaps, arises and forms the lower part of another imaginary bird-headed beast.

The engraving is taken from a series of 12 prints with foliage and grotesque figures dedicated to the Scottish goldsmith George Heriot (1563–1624). The designer of the series was Nicasius Rousseel, a goldsmith from Bruges who settled in London around 1573. This print is perhaps a design for decoration for a silver flagon (wine container). The same composition, reversed, would be engraved on the back side of the rounded vessel, creating a continuous composition.


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