Baroque Grotesque Figure
Baroque Grotesque Figure
Sicilian Baroque keystone dating back to the 18th century. The hand-carved relief figure features the face of a grotesque creature surrounded by leafy decorative elements.
Also known as “mascheroni”, these stone elements enriched and decorated stately homes, becoming almost the emblem of the baroque decoration of many of the pearls of the Iblean territory: Ragusa, Modica, Scicli, Noto, Syracuse and Catania, just to name a few.
This area has been recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage site since 2002, serving as an outstanding testament to late Baroque art and architecture, marking the final flourish of European Baroque style.
In the late Baroque culture, which profoundly influenced the Iblean landscape , one of the characteristic elements is precisely the way of carving shelves and keystones to create various and allegorical decorations, but above all strange, where “theatricality” becomes the myth to be sought: fantastic, awkward faces, musicians, floral, faunal and animal elements; and again all decorated with pendants, turbans, beards, laurel leaves. The masks, with their grotesque and suggestive features, attracted the attention of passers-by with amazement. They represent the transposition of human fears, such as the fear of the unknown, the fight against evil, and therefore, in short, the uncertainty of life; they represent, in the end, the face of society.
Additional information
Dimensions Cm (l × w × h) | 25 x 16 x 40 |
---|