Ornamental Design with Tendrils 1537

Heinrich Aldegrever created this ornamental design with tendrils sometime between 1520 and 1561 using engraving. Aldegrever was a German painter and printmaker, associated with the Protestant Reformation. His religious beliefs were reflected in the choice of his subjects. As an artist working during the Reformation, Aldegrever found himself in a society undergoing immense religious and social change. He was also one of the most important German designers of ornament. The figures in this print are not explicitly religious. The cherubic figures are surrounded by dense foliage, and evoke classical antiquity. Allegorical figures were often used as a way to circumvent the restrictions or expectations of religious art. How might we consider the role of ornament during times of religious reform? As a space for artists to explore humanism, or as a form of covert expression, it could give voice to alternative or even subversive narratives.