What is a grotesque decoration
What is a grotesque decoration
The courtyard Michelozzo projected in 1453 was upset in 1565, one century later, when Francesco I married Giovanni d'Austria. It was embellished with fifteen landscapes decorations of the Austrian Empire to honour Giovanna, Massimiliano's brother the Austrian Emperor.
The vaults of the cpurtyard were decorated with grotesques, following the old Roman style. This particular and strange representations made of monsters, vegetal and floral motifs, hybrid creatures was discovered for the first time in Rome at the end of the XV century: a man fell accidentally in a grotto completely decorated in a similar way. Anybody knew it was Nerone's house! Immediately Filippino Lippi, Domenico Ghirlandaio, Raffaello studied and reproduced a similar decoration for their works of art and soon it became the typical Renaissance representation.
This is the reason why you find grotesques in Florentine museums: in the Uffizi gallery, in Boboli garden, in Palazzo Vecchio and so on.
On the left the courtyard of Palazzo Vecchio: you can visit it with us!! On the 1st of July a guided tour inside Palazzo Vecchio! We will visit together even the tower built by Arnolfo di Cambio...Don't miss it!!
Altri articoli
Santa Maria Nuova and its secret underground
Even the great artist Leonardo da Vinci studied anatomy and dissected bodies in this long corridor!!
Santa Reparata and its precious remains
Santa reparata was destroyed only at the end of the XIV century when works for the edification of the new one were going on.
What are these two men
Even the genius Leonardo studied it and reproduced wooden models of the machines Brunelleschi employed to move the material he needed!
Pisa, a Glorious City
Located along the Arno River, Pisa boasts a rich history and a glorious past as a maritime republic.