Design for an Ornamental Panel with Rinceaux, Satyrs, Putti, Monsters and a Human Head 1535 - 1545

Giulio Campi made this design for an ornamental panel with pen and brown ink, with brush and brown wash, heightened with white gouache, on brownish prepared paper. This drawing is a product of its time and place, northern Italy in the 16th century, when artists looked to classical antiquity for inspiration. What seems like a flight of fancy is in fact closely tied to the traditions of the Italian Renaissance. The artist is concerned with the forms of classical mythology, such as satyrs and putti, as well as with the classical style of ornamentation known as rinceaux. These forms do not appear by accident. They are the product of an art world that looked back to ancient Rome for models of excellence. Renaissance artists had to learn the visual vocabulary of antiquity and the artistic institutions that preserved that vocabulary. By studying drawings like this and consulting historical resources such as pattern books, we can gain insight into the social conditions that shape artistic production.