High Renaissance
The Grotesque
The grotesque, a style of ornamentation in the High Renaissance in Rome, was developed as a unified system of decoration by Raphael and his school while decorating the loggias of the Vatican in the years 1517 to 1519. In a pictorial space defined only by a vertically symmetric arrangement of pilasters or the borders of a mural or fresco, the grotesque introduced a repertoire of motifs that was to spread throughout all of Europe. Ill. 2
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Ill.2.: Nicoletto da Modena
Blatt aus einer Serie von vier Grotteskenornamenten |
Taking as a model the ancient wall frescoes in Emperor Nero’s Domus Aurea (“Golden House”), rediscovered around 1500 during excavations in Rome, Raphael developed the so-called “candelabra motif” into a hallmark of the grotesque. Ornaments of this type, which were used mainly as framework or surface motifs, are characterized by vertical, axially symmetric structuring and an arrangement that resembles a kind of chandelier or candelabra. The grotesque style of ornamentation was integrated into the five orders of architecture that were codified in the 16th century. Parallel to this, the surface ornament known as Moresque developed in Venice and in post-Moorish Spain out of Islamic predecessors; it is characterized by intricate, interlacing strapwork and non-figural scrollwork. Ill. 3a 3b
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Ill.3a.: Virgilius Solis
Blatt aus einer Serie für Beschlagvorlagen mit Schweifarabesken |
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Ill.3b.: Virgilius Solis
Blatt aus einer Serie für Beschlagvorlagen mit Schweifarabesken |
Bernd Evers, Rainald Franz
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