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

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

Artist Johan Barrà (Dutch | Flemish, 1581-1634)

Place of OriginFlanders

Date1623

Dimensions5 x 3 3/8 in.

MediumEngraving

ClassificationPrints

Credit LineGift of Geoffrey R. Bennett

Object number

1962.43

Not on View

Label TextIn 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.Exhibition HistoryTMA Satire Show: March 17 - June 25 2006. TMA, The Dramatic Image: Baroque Prints of the 17th Century, February 25 - July 31, 2011.