Grotesques

1574 · Stanza della Fama, Palazzo Vitelli a Sant'Egidio, Città di Castello

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Some of the Roman paintings found in the Domus Aurea and elsewhere correspond quite precisely what Vasari and others determined to be the typical features of grotesques. These paintings inspired several ceiling designs 'all'antica' in the first part of the sixteenth century. The desire to revive not only the forms of ancient Roman architecture but also their decoration may help to explain the success of these paintings.

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About the Artist

Giovanni Antonio Paganino

Italian decorative painter. The execution of grotesques, designed by Raphael and his workshop, was left to specialists in the sixteenth century. We know only a few of their names, including Giovanni da Udine, Cesare Baglione and Giovanni Antonio Paganino; many others remain anonymous.

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