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"Do Not Wear a Tight-Fitting Ring" [fol. 23 recto]

French early 16th Century

1514

ink

paper

From the collection of National Gallery of Art

Renaissance Renaissance Allegory

Dominant colour

"Do Not Wear a Tight-Fitting Ring" [fol. 23 recto] is a 1514 ink by French early 16th Century, a Renaissance work, held at National Gallery of Art.

Who painted this?: French early 16th Century
When & what style?: 1514 · Renaissance
Where can I see it?: National Gallery of Art

About this work

This painting shows a group of people in a circle, with one person in the middle wearing a costume with animal ears. The others are holding onto the person's arms and legs, and some are kneeling on the ground. The scene is depicted in brown ink with watercolor on laid paper. The image has a sense of movement and energy, with the figures interacting with each other in a dynamic way. The use of watercolor adds a touch of delicacy and subtlety to the scene. The painting is part of the Renaissance movement, characterized by a revival of classical Greek and Roman styles and themes.

About the artist

Artist

French early 16th Century

A French draftsman from the early 1500s filled sheets of laid paper with tiny, sharp-tongued instructions—ink sketches paired with warnings like “Do Not Eat Your Heart Out” or “Feed Not Things That Have Sharp Claws.”…

See the richer artist page