Composite capital with measurements
ca. 1530–1540
Medium
Engraving
Dimensions
Sheet: 8 13/16 x 5 11/16 in. (22.4 x 14.5 cm) Mount: 10 11/16 x 6 7/16 in. (27.2 x 16.3 cm)
Classification
Prints|Ornament & Architecture
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Bequest of Phyllis Massar, 2011
Accession Number
2012.136.823
Tags
Art Historical Context
This delicate engraving, titled *Composite Capital with Measurements*, comes from the workshop of the enigmatic Monogrammist G. & the Caltrop, active around 1530–1540. Rendered on a modest sheet measuring 8 13/16 x 5 11/16 inches, it showcases a richly ornamented architectural capital—a composite blending Ionic volutes and Corinthian acanthus leaves. Such designs reflect the Renaissance fascination with classical antiquity, revived through rediscovered Roman treatises like Vitruvius's *De Architectura*. As an engraving, a precise intaglio technique where lines are incised into a metal plate, ...
About the Artist
Monogrammist G.A. & the Caltrop · 1535–1535
**Monogrammist G.A. with the Caltrop**, an enigmatic Italian engraver active in Rome during the 1530s and 1540s, remains one of the shadowy figures of the Renaissance print world. Identified solely by his monogram "G.A." accompanied by a distinctive caltrop symbol—a spiked iron ball used in warfare—little is known of his personal life or training. His early years are not well documented, and no te...