Grotesque ornament comprising a swag and a repeated band 1540 - 1550

Andrés de Melgar made this pen and brown ink drawing of a grotesque ornament sometime in the late 16th century. At this time, Spanish artists looked to Italy for inspiration, especially the decorative vocabulary of ancient Rome. This interest gained momentum with the rise of academies teaching classical principles. The museum itself, as an institution, was also on the rise, as wealthy elites began to form collections and display them in their homes, sometimes open to the public. This drawing suggests the artist's involvement in this cultural milieu. Ornament prints and drawings were used by artists and artisans to decorate various objects and spaces. Here, Melgar has provided the prototype for an elegant form of display. The survival of works such as this in museum collections is not simply a matter of taste, but reflects the social and institutional history of art. To learn more, look into the history of academies of art and the rise of the decorative arts in early modern Europe.