View of a Bay with a Central Tree in an Ornamental Frame

This is from a group of around 20 etchings that depict ornamental frames, most of which enclose Netherlandish-style landscapes. The landscape in this print is based on a drawing by Matthijs Cock (Musée du Louvre, Paris) that shows St Augustine in the centre of the image. In this print he has here been replaced by a tree. The strapwork frame is the most striking element of the print, its fantastic grotesques, elongated and crouching figures and heads set in cartouche reveal the artist's imagination and compelling sense of design. The roots of this visual aesthetic lie in the Galerie François I at Fontainbleau decorated by Rosso Fiorentino.

Credit: Purchase, Friends of Drawings and Prints Gifts, 2018