Skitse til to ornamentale friser 1887

Nicolosio Granello made this sketch for two ornamental friezes with pen and brown ink in the mid-16th century. Drawings like this were crucial for the large-scale decoration of palaces and churches across Europe, and are evidence of the networks of artistic exchange that were developing at this time. This sketch shows the influence of classical antiquity, from the reclining figure to the ornamental motifs, as well as the burgeoning interest in the natural world. Granello worked in a period when artists were often employed as part of a team, so understanding how this drawing functions as a design for the decoration of a larger space helps us understand the artistic practices of the time. To understand Granello’s work, we can look at how he and other artists responded to the demands of powerful patrons, and ask, what did these images mean to the people who commissioned them? What did they communicate to their intended audience?