Print, Plate, from Ornamenti o Grottesche (Ornaments or Grotesques)

 

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Object Timeline

1920

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2006

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2025

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Print, Plate, from Ornamenti o Grottesche (Ornaments or Grotesques)

This is a Print. It was designed by Stefano della Bella. It is dated ca. 1653 and we acquired it in 1920. Its medium is etching on off-white laid paper. It is a part of the Drawings, Prints, and Graphic Design department.



Transitioning with ease between naturalism and fantasy, della Bella’s prints retain the spontenaity of a sketch. With light, sinuous strokes and loose crosshatching, he pioneered a new form of etching, more like drawing than the precise, technical execution of his peers. In these ornament designs, familiar creatures grow organically into inventive grotesques, as if in a game of free association.

This object was donated by Advisory Council. It is credited Purchased for the Museum by the Advisory Council.

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Its dimensions are

H x W: 16.5 × 6.4 cm (6 1/2 × 2 1/2 in.)

Cite this object as

Print, Plate, from Ornamenti o Grottesche (Ornaments or Grotesques); Designed by Stefano della Bella (Italian, 1610–1664); Italy; etching on off-white laid paper; H x W: 16.5 × 6.4 cm (6 1/2 × 2 1/2 in.); Purchased for the Museum by the Advisory Council; 1921-6-152-1

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If you would like to cite this object in a Wikipedia article please use the following template:

<ref name=CH>{{cite web |url=https://collection.cooperhewitt.org/objects/18218907/ |title=Print, Plate, from Ornamenti o Grottesche (Ornaments or Grotesques) |author=Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum |accessdate=18 July 2025 |publisher=Smithsonian Institution}}</ref>