Title page of series of ornament designs in the shape of crosses of Lorraine, with grotesque motifs on black grounds
Engraving, title page of a series of ornament designs in the shape of the Cross of Lorraine, created by Étienne Delaune in Strasbourg in 1573, as indicated by the inscription on this plate. The designs consist of representations of heroes and divinities, as allegories of virtue, surrounded by grotesque motifs, and executed on black grounds. This print is made up of an oval-shaped cartouche with an inscription, flanked above by a female mask, crowned by a palmette with offsetting scrolling leaves. To the sides of the oval cartouche are two bare-breasted, winged female figures with draped robes, holding in their hands a flaming torch from which emerges a scrolling motif, which ends on the head of a dragon. On the lower part of the print is a man, his legs made up of scrolling leaves, and his arms extended to the sides, holding scrolling branches with leaves, which end on putti heads. This male figure is very likely inspired on the work of German masters, such as Hans Sebald Beham and Heinrich Aldegrever.
Artwork Details
- Title: Title page of series of ornament designs in the shape of crosses of Lorraine, with grotesque motifs on black grounds
- Artist: Etienne Delaune (French, Orléans 1518/19–1583 Strasbourg)
- Artist: Related to Sebald Beham (German, Nuremberg 1500–1550 Frankfurt)
- Artist: Related to Heinrich Aldegrever (German, Paderborn ca. 1502–1555/1561 Soest)
- Date: 1573
- Medium: Engraving
- Dimensions: Sheet (trimmed): 1 15/16 × 1 5/8 in. (5 × 4.1 cm)
- Classifications: Prints, Ornament & Architecture
- Credit Line: The Elisha Whittelsey Collection, The Elisha Whittelsey Fund, 1947
- Object Number: 47.139.97
- Curatorial Department: Drawings and Prints
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