Fragile Beasts Coloring Book (Paperback)

Caitlin Condell

ISBN 10: 1942303165 / ISBN 13: 9781942303169

Published by Cooper Hewitt Smithsonian Design Museum, Chicago, 2016

About this Item

Paperback. The word grotesque was first coined at the end of the fifteenth century in Italy to describe a style of painting found in Ancient Roman ruins in which foliage intertwines and merges with human and animal forms. The re-discovery of these ruins was deeply influential to artists and designers. Through drawings and prints, grotesque motifs were disseminated as patterns for decoration in architecture, metalwork, textiles and ceramics. The fantastic nature of the grotesque enabled artists to incorporate imagery that pushed the boundaries of the known world. Within the confines of ornamental designs, artists turned elements from nature into otherworldly beings. Creatures, fearsome or playful, graceful or rigid, take their place in dense and sinuous designs for locks, ewers, rings, tapestries, stained glass and more. These intimately scaled works, often measuring just a few inches, are at times erotically charged and at others moralizing. Centuries later, these drawings and prints open a window to the imagination of artists and designers as the Age of Exploration unfolded around them. Discover hidden monsters and transform serpents, chimeras, dragons and gargoyles into otherworldly beings in this colouring book inspired by grotesque ornament prints from the 16th and 17th centuries. Shipping may be from multiple locations in the US or from the UK, depending on stock availability.

Seller Inventory # 9781942303169

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Fragile Beasts Coloring Book (Paperback)
• Publisher: Cooper Hewitt Smithsonian Design Museum, Chicago
• Publication Date: 2016
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1942303165
• ISBN 13: 9781942303169
• Binding: Paperback
• Illustrator: Berthon, Magali
• Condition: new

About this title

Synopsis

Discover hidden monsters, serpents and other beasts in this coloring book based on historical prints

Discover hidden monsters and awaken serpents, chimeras, dragons and gargoyles in this coloring book inspired by grotesque ornament prints from the 16th and 17th centuries. Animals become alternately ferocious or docile as you color in these delicate designs from the imaginative minds of artists working in the Age of Exploration.

The late-15th-century discovery of ancient Roman murals inspired Renaissance artists and designers, who disseminated their grotesque motifs through drawings, prints and patterns in architecture, metalwork, textiles and ceramics. Suddenly, fantastical creatures began to appear in sinuous designs for locks, ewers, rings, tapestries, stained glass and more. Alternately fearsome and playful, graceful and rigid, these works--often measuring just a few inches--are at times erotically charged and at others moralizing.

In June 2016, Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum mounts the exhibition Fragile Beasts, highlighting rarely seen grotesque works on paper from the museum’s permanent collection. Now, never before published in this form, they are redrawn by designer Magali An Berthon in the pages of a coloring book.