Flemish Masks (1555)

ENGRAVINGS

This is a selection of mask designs from the hand of Flemish engraver Frans Huys, rooted in the "grotesque" style and composed of shapes inspired from creaturely and vegetative forms (forming a style that would later become known as "auricular").He based these prints on original designs by the sculptor and architect Cornelis Floris, who is credited with inventing this particular Flemish version of the grotesque style in about 1541. The prints come from a set published in 1555 by Hans Liefrinck (about 1518-1573), an important Antwerp publisher and print-seller. The volume - bearing the full title of "Pourtraicture ingenieuse de plusieurs façons de masques, forts utile aulx painctres, orseures, taillieurs de pierres, voirriers, & tailleurs d'images" - is thought to have contained at least 18 images.