Cartouche in the Form of a Horned Monster's Head in Near Profile View.

Art Historical Context

Welcome to the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Drawings and Prints department, where Colonna's *Cartouche in the Form a Horned Monster's in Near Profile View* (ca. 1604–87) captivates with its whimsical grotesquerie. This intimate sheet, measuring just 6 3/4 x 4 1/8 inches, showcases the Italian architect and designer's mastery of ornamental fantasy. Colonna, active in early 17th-century Rome was renowned for his intricate engravings and drawings inspired by ancient Roman motifs rediscovered during the Renaissance. Executed in pen and brown ink over faint graphite traces, the work depicts a snarling, horned monster's head forming a cartouche—a decorative frame often used in architecture, bookplates, and prints to enclose inscriptions or coats of arms. The near-profile view accentuates the creature's fierce eyes, jagged teeth, and swirling tendrils, blending horror with elegance in true Baroque spirit. Graphite underdrawing allowed Colonna to sketch fluidly before committing to bold ink lines, a technique prized for its precision in preparatory designs. This piece reflects the era's cultural obsession with *grottesche*—fantastical hybrids drawn from Nero's Domus Aurea excavations—symbolizing nature's wild abundance. Acquired through the Harris Brisbane Dick Fund and Joseph Pulitzer Bequest in 1971, it invites visitors to marvel at how such monstrous motifs adorned palaces and folios, bridging antiquity and opulent modernity. (198 words)