The word grotesque was first coined at the end of the fifteenth
century in Italy to describe a style of painting found in Ancient
Roman ruins in which foliage intertwines and merges with human and
animal forms. The re-discovery of these ruins was deeply
influential to artists and designers. Through drawings and prints,
grotesque motifs were disseminated as patterns for decoration in
architecture, metalwork, textiles and ceramics. The fantastic
nature of the grotesque enabled artists to incorporate imagery that
pushed the boundaries of the known world. Within the confines of
ornamental designs, artists turned elements from nature into
otherworldly beings. Creatures, fearsome or playful, graceful or
rigid, take their place in dense and sinuous designs for locks,
ewers, rings, tapestries, stained glass and more. These intimately
scaled works, often measuring just a few inches, are at times
erotically charged and at others moralizing. Centuries later, these
drawings and prints open a window to the imagination of artists and
designers as the Age of Exploration unfolded around them.
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