grotesque

(noun)

Originating from the Italian word for "cave," an extravagant style of ancient Roman painting found on the walls of basements of ancient ruins.

Related Terms

Examples of grotesque in the following topics:

  • Mantua

    • The subjects range from the Olympian banquets in the Sala di Psiche and stylized horses in the Sala dei Cavalli to the most unusual of all—giants and grotesques wreaking havoc, fury, and ruin around the walls of the Sala dei Giganti .

  • Art for Aristocrats

    • Here, as opposed to the classical aristocratic tradition, Brueghel shows man as an anti-hero; comical, and sometimes, grotesque.

  • The Development of Abstract Expressionism

    • Jackson Pollock's energetic action paintings, with their "busy" feel, are different both technically and aesthetically from the violent and grotesque Women series of Willem de Kooning.

  • German Expressionism

    • Many viewed Schiele's work as being grotesque, erotic, pornographic, or disturbing, focusing on sex, death, and discovery .

  • Architecture of the Early Roman Empire

    • The surviving frescoes provide excellent examples of Pompeiian fourth-style painting, a fantastical style that inspired Renaissance grotesque when portions of the palace were discovered at the end of the 1400s.