Ornament in Hexagonal Shape

1480

From the collection of National Gallery of Art

Dominant colour

Ornament in Hexagonal Shape is a 1480 by Italian 15th Century, a Renaissance work, held at National Gallery of Art.

Who painted this?: Italian 15th Century
When & what style?: 1480 · Renaissance
Where can I see it?: National Gallery of Art

About this work

This piece looks like a broken tile with dark, swirling designs. The center has two big flower shapes with leaves and vines curling around them. The edges are worn, and the background is mostly black with some faded light areas. The flowers and leaves are arranged in a balanced, repeating pattern. This style was common in Renaissance art, where symmetry and nature were often combined. Next, check out the Renaissance movement to see how artists used similar designs.

About the artist

Artist

Italian 15th Century

This anonymous Italian engraver from the 1490s carved images that could be peeled apart like paper dolls—each knot in the "First Knot" print was cut from a single sheet so you could lift the loops right off the page.

See the richer artist page