Fries met bladranken en figuren 1537

Heinrich Aldegrever created this ornamental frieze with leaf tendrils and figures using engraving, a printmaking technique, sometime in the first half of the 16th century. Aldegrever was one of a number of German artists who embraced the Italian Renaissance style, incorporating classical motifs into their work. Ornament such as this example was intended for circulation among workshops of goldsmiths, woodcarvers, and other artisans, helping to disseminate new ideas about design. The figures included here – putti, the vestigial torsos of classical statues, and grotesque masks – are all hallmarks of the Renaissance “grotesque” style derived from the rediscovery of ancient Roman decorative schemes. It is interesting to consider how this imagery moved through society, and how its meanings may have been adapted by different communities of makers. To understand this print more fully, we might consider its relation to pattern books and other forms of design media. By exploring the material culture of the period, we can appreciate the social and institutional context that gave shape to this ornamental vocabulary.