A cartouche (also cartouch) is an

oval An oval () is a closed curve in a plane which resembles the outline of an egg. The term is not very specific, but in some areas of mathematics (projective geometry, technical drawing, etc.), it is given a more precise definition, which may inc ...

or oblong design with a slightly

convex Convex or convexity may refer to: Science and technology * Convex lens, in optics Mathematics * Convex set, containing the whole line segment that joins points ** Convex polygon, a polygon which encloses a convex set of points ** Convex polytop ...

surface, typically edged with ornamental

scrollwork The scroll in art is an element of ornament (art), ornament and graphic design featuring spirals and rolling incomplete circle motifs, some of which resemble the edge-on view of a book or document in scroll form, though many types are plant- ...

. It is used to hold a painted or low-relief design. Since the early 16th century, the cartouche is a scrolling frame device, derived originally from Italian . Such cartouches are characteristically stretched, pierced and scrolling. Another cartouche figures prominently in the 16th-century title page of

Giorgio Vasari Giorgio Vasari (30 July 1511 – 27 June 1574) was an Italian Renaissance painter, architect, art historian, and biographer who is best known for his work ''Lives of the Most Excellent Painters, Sculptors, and Architects'', considered the ideol ...

's ''

Lives of the Most Excellent Painters, Sculptors, and Architects ''The Lives of the Most Excellent Painters, Sculptors, and Architects'' () is a series of artist biographies written by 16th-century Italian painter and architect Giorgio Vasari, which is considered "perhaps the most famous, and even today the ...

'', framing a minor

vignette Vignette may refer to: * Vignette (entertainment), a sketch in a sketch comedy * Vignette (graphic design), decorative designs in books (originally in the form of leaves and vines) to separate sections or chapters * Vignette (literature), short, i ...

with a pierced and scrolling papery cartouche. The engraved trade card of the London clockmaker Percy Webster shows a vignette of the shop in a scrolling cartouche frame of

Rococo Rococo, less commonly Roccoco ( , ; or ), also known as Late Baroque, is an exceptionally ornamental and dramatic style of architecture, art and decoration which combines asymmetry, scrolling curves, gilding, white and pastel colours, sculpte ...

design that is composed entirely of scrolling devices.

History

Antiquity

Cartouches are found on buildings, funerary steles and

sarcophagi A sarcophagus (: sarcophagi or sarcophaguses) is a coffin, most commonly carved in stone, and usually displayed above ground, though it may also be buried. The word ''sarcophagus'' comes from the Greek σάρξ ' meaning "flesh", and φ� ...

. The cartouche is generally rectangular, delimited by a molding or one or more incised lines, with two symmetrical

trapezoid In geometry, a trapezoid () in North American English, or trapezium () in British English, is a quadrilateral that has at least one pair of parallel sides. The parallel sides are called the ''bases'' of the trapezoid. The other two sides are ...

s on the lateral edges. Adana Archaeological Museum Roman Era Sarcophagus 3rd AD 0766.jpg, Roman rectangular cartouche on a sarcophagus, 3rd century, marble, Adana Archaeology Museum,

Adana Adana is a large city in southern Turkey. The city is situated on the Seyhan River, inland from the northeastern shores of the Mediterranean Sea. It is the administrative seat of the Adana Province, Adana province, and has a population of 1 81 ...

, Turkey File:Leaf Symmachi VandA 212-1865 n02.jpg, Roman cartouche on the right leaf of the Symmachi–Nicomachi diptych, 400, ivory,

Victoria and Albert Museum The Victoria and Albert Museum (abbreviated V&A) in London is the world's largest museum of applied arts, decorative arts and design, housing a permanent collection of over 2.8 million objects. It was founded in 1852 and named after Queen ...

, London

Chinese

Percival David Collection DSCF3122 16.jpg, Chinese cartouches on a Longquan ware Vase, 14th century,

celadon Celadon () is a term for pottery denoting both wares ceramic glaze, glazed in the jade green Shades of green#Celadon, celadon color, also known as greenware or "green ware" (the term specialists now tend to use), and a type of transparent glaze, ...

British Museum The British Museum is a Museum, public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is the largest in the world. It documents the story of human cu ...

, London Illustration from L’ornement Polychrome by Albert Racinet from rawpixel’s own original 1888 publication 00058.jpg, Chinese cartouches, illustration from L'Ornement Polychrome, by Albert Racinet, 1888

From the Renaissance to Art Deco

The

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) is a Periodization, period of history and a European cultural movement covering the 15th and 16th centuries. It marked the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and was characterized by an effort to revive and sur ...

brought back elements of Greco-Roman culture, including ornaments like the cartouche. Compared to their ancient ancestors, the ones from the Renaissance are usually much more complex. Cartouches continue to be used in styles that succeed the Renaissance. Most have the usual look of a symmetrical oval with scrolls developed during the

and

Baroque The Baroque ( , , ) is a Western Style (visual arts), style of Baroque architecture, architecture, Baroque music, music, Baroque dance, dance, Baroque painting, painting, Baroque sculpture, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished from ...

periods, but some are highly stylized, showing the diversity of styles popular over time. They were used constantly, and were one of the main motifs of

and

Beaux Arts architecture Beaux-Arts architecture ( , ) was the academic architectural style taught at the in Paris, particularly from the 1830s to the end of the 19th century. It drew upon the principles of French neoclassicism, but also incorporated Renaissance and B ...

. Their use started to fade in

Art Deco Art Deco, short for the French (), is a style of visual arts, architecture, and product design that first Art Deco in Paris, appeared in Paris in the 1910s just before World War I and flourished in the United States and Europe during the 1920 ...

, a style created as a collective effort of multiple French designers to make a new modern style around 1910. This is because artists of this movement tried to create new ornaments for their time, most often stylizing motifs used before, or coming up with completely new ones. Art Deco also followed the principle of simplicity, another reason for the rarity of complex ornaments like cartouches or mascarons in Art Deco. File:Piazza degli strozzi 6 angolo via degli strozzi e via tornabuoni 14, palazzo strozzi, finestra del primo piano con stemma strozzi.jpg,

cartouche in a laurel crown with ribbons, above a bifora of the Palazzo Strozzi,

Florence Florence ( ; ) is the capital city of the Italy, Italian region of Tuscany. It is also the most populated city in Tuscany, with 362,353 inhabitants, and 989,460 in Metropolitan City of Florence, its metropolitan province as of 2025. Florence ...

, Italy, by Benedetto da Maiano, 1489-1538 File:Italia centrale, cassone con teste di gorgoni, xvi sec. 02.JPG,

cartouche on a cassone, 16th century, most probably walnut, Villa medicea di Cerreto Guidi, Cerreto Guidi, Italy File:Bottega fiorentina, forziere in noce, xvi sec 01.JPG, Renaissance cartouche on a chest, 16th century, walnut, Palazzo Davanzati,

, Italy File:Fontainebleau - Le château - PA00086975 - 056.jpg, Renaissance

stucco Stucco or render is a construction material made of aggregates, a binder, and water. Stucco is applied wet and hardens to a very dense solid. It is used as a decorative coating for walls and ceilings, exterior walls, and as a sculptural and ...

cartouche on a wall in the Gallery of Francis I,

Palace of Fontainebleau Palace of Fontainebleau ( , ; ), located southeast of the center of Paris, in the commune of Fontainebleau, is one of the largest French royal châteaux. It served as a hunting lodge and summer residence for many of the List of French monarchs ...

Fontainebleau Fontainebleau ( , , ) is a Communes of France, commune in the Functional area (France), metropolitan area of Paris, France. It is located south-southeast of the Kilometre zero#France, centre of Paris. Fontainebleau is a Subprefectures in Franc ...

, France, by Rosso Fiorentino, designed in 1532 Basilique Saint-Denis Francois Ier monument coeur.jpg, Renaissance cartouches on the Monument for the heart of Francis I,

Basilica of Saint-Denis The Basilica of Saint-Denis (, now formally known as the ) is a large former medieval abbey church and present cathedral in the commune of Saint-Denis, a northern suburb of Paris. The building is of singular importance historically and archite ...

, Saint-Denis, France, by Pierre Bontemps, 1556 Dijon - Hôtel Bénigne Le Compasseur -4.jpg, Renaissance cartouche on the Hôtel Bénigne Le Compasseur (Rue Vannerie no. 64),

Dijon Dijon (, ; ; in Burgundian language (Oïl), Burgundian: ''Digion'') is a city in and the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Côte-d'Or Departments of France, department and of the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté Regions of France, region in eas ...

, France, unknown architect, 1570 Alexander de Grote als een van de negen helden De negen helden (serietitel), RP-P-1890-A-15504.jpg, Two

cartouches, a big one with

Alexander the Great Alexander III of Macedon (; 20/21 July 356 BC – 10/11 June 323 BC), most commonly known as Alexander the Great, was a king of the Ancient Greece, ancient Greek kingdom of Macedonia (ancient kingdom), Macedon. He succeeded his father Philip ...

and a smaller one with an inscription, by Crispijn van de Passe the Elder, 1574-1637,

engraving Engraving is the practice of incising a design on a hard, usually flat surface by cutting grooves into it with a Burin (engraving), burin. The result may be a decorated object in itself, as when silver, gold, steel, or Glass engraving, glass ar ...

on paper, Rijksmuseum,

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , ; ; ) is the capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, largest city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It has a population of 933,680 in June 2024 within the city proper, 1,457,018 in the City Re ...

, the

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

Pediment war cour Carree Louvre.jpg, Renaissance cartouche in a pediment of the west facade of the Cour Carrée of the

Louvre Palace The Louvre Palace (, ), often referred to simply as the Louvre, is an iconic French palace located on the Right Bank of the Seine in Paris, occupying a vast expanse of land between the Tuileries Gardens and the church of Saint-Germain l'Auxe ...

, Paris, designed by Pierre Lescot, 16th century File:Anatomisch theater Andreae Vesalii Bruxellensis, invictissimi Caroli V. Imperatoris medici, de Humani corporis fabrica Libri septem (titel op object) Titelpagina voor Andreas Vesalius, De humani corporis fabrica, 1555, RP-P-2016-1796.jpg, Three Renaissance cartouches (two at the top and one at the bottom) on the frontispiece from ''On The Fabric of the Human Body'', by

Andreas Vesalius Andries van Wezel (31 December 1514 – 15 October 1564), latinized as Andreas Vesalius (), was an anatomist and physician who wrote '' De Humani Corporis Fabrica Libri Septem'' (''On the fabric of the human body'' ''in seven books''), which is ...

, 1555,

woodcut Woodcut is a relief printing technique in printmaking. An artist carves an image into the surface of a block of wood—typically with gouges—leaving the printing parts level with the surface while removing the non-printing parts. Areas that ...

on paper, Rijksmuseum Illustration from L’ornement Polychrome by Albert Racinet from rawpixel’s own original 1888 publication 00234.jpg, 16th and 17th century Renaissance cartouches from L'Ornement Polychrome, by Albert Racinet, 1888 File:CoA Pius VI Saint Peter's Basilica Vatican City.jpg,

cartouche at the entrance of St. Peter's Basilica, Rome, unknown architect or blacksmith, 1615 Stefano Della Bella - New Model for a Cartouche - 1972.137.2 - Cleveland Museum of Art.tif, Design of a Baroque cartouche, by Stefano della Bella, 1647, etching on paper,

Cleveland Museum of Art The Cleveland Museum of Art (CMA) is an art museum in Cleveland, Ohio, United States. Located in the Wade Park District of University Circle, the museum is internationally renowned for its substantial holdings of Asian art, Asian and Art of anc ...

Cleveland Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located along the southern shore of Lake Erie, it is situated across the Canada–U.S. maritime border and approximately west of the Ohio-Pennsylvania st ...

, US Charlottenburg Palace, 1695-1746, Berlin (20) (40185455721).jpg,

cartouche with

putti A putto (; plural putti ) is a figure in a work of art depicted as a chubby male child, usually naked and very often winged. Originally limited to profane passions in symbolism,Dempsey, Charles. ''Inventing the Renaissance Putto''. University ...

, above a mirror in the bedchamber of the Mecklenburg Apartment, Charlottenburg Palace, Berlin, unknown architect, 17th century File:Palazzo davanzati, stemma davanzati in facciata.JPG, Baroque cartouche with the coat of arms of the Davanzati Family on the Palazzo Davanzati, Florence, unknown sculptor, late 17th century File:Pierre legros, gloria di san luigi gonzaga, 1697-99, 01, altare con colonne di verde antico (cropped pediments and cartouche).jpg, Baroque cartouche and pediments on the Altar of Saint

Aloysius Gonzaga Aloysius de Gonzaga, SJ (; 9 March 156821 June 1591) was an Italian people, Italian aristocracy (class), aristocrat who became a member of the Society of Jesus. While still a student at the Roman College, he died as a result of caring for the v ...

Sant'Ignazio The Church of St. Ignatius of Loyola at Campus Martius (, ) is a Latin Catholic titular church, of deaconry rank, dedicated to Ignatius of Loyola, the founder of the Society of Jesus, located in Rome, Italy. Built in Baroque style between 1626 and ...

, Rome, by Pierre Le Gros the Younger, 1697-1699 Stone in the courtyard of the Antim Monastery 19.jpg, Brâncovenesc cartouche on a damaged stone in the courtyard of Antim Monastery,

Bucharest Bucharest ( , ; ) is the capital and largest city of Romania. The metropolis stands on the River Dâmbovița (river), Dâmbovița in south-eastern Romania. Its population is officially estimated at 1.76 million residents within a greater Buc ...

Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...

, unknown sculptor, late 17th-early 18th century Frontispiece for 'Figures French and comic' (Figures francoises et comiques) MET DP834139.jpg, Baroque cartouche of the frontispiece for ''Figures françoises et comiques'' by Robert Hecquet, possibly 1702, etching in paper,

Metropolitan Museum of Art The Metropolitan Museum of Art, colloquially referred to as the Met, is an Encyclopedic museum, encyclopedic art museum in New York City. By floor area, it is the List of largest museums, third-largest museum in the world and the List of larg ...

, New York City Print (France) (CH 18264721).jpg, Baroque cartouche, unknown date, etching on paper, Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum, New York File:P1180356 Paris Ier rue de l'Arbre-Sec n52 rwk.jpg, Baroque cartouche-shaped

corbel In architecture, a corbel is a structural piece of stone, wood or metal keyed into and projecting from a wall to carry a wikt:superincumbent, bearing weight, a type of bracket (architecture), bracket. A corbel is a solid piece of material in t ...

s on the facade of the Hôtel d'Eynaud ( Rue de l'Arbre-Sec no, 52), Paris, unknown architect, 1721 File:Les Astronomes, de la première tenture chinoise - Manufacture de Beauvais - Musée du Louvre Objets d'art OA 12544.jpg, Baroque cartouche on the edges and corners of ''The Astronomers'', designed by Guy-Louis Vernansal, 1722-1724, wool, silk and tapestry weaving,

Louvre The Louvre ( ), or the Louvre Museum ( ), is a national art museum in Paris, France, and one of the most famous museums in the world. It is located on the Rive Droite, Right Bank of the Seine in the city's 1st arrondissement of Paris, 1st arron ...

Illustration from L’ornement Polychrome by Albert Racinet from rawpixel’s own original 1888 publication 00269.jpg, 18th century

cartouches from L'Ornement Polychrome, by Albert Racinet, 1888 Saint-Germain-en-Laye Hôtel de Conti 2011 05.jpg, Rococo cartouche of the Hôtel de Conti (Place du Château no. 14),

Saint-Germain-en-Laye Saint-Germain-en-Laye () is a Communes of France, commune in the Yvelines Departments of France, department in the Île-de-France in north-central France. It is located in the western suburbs of Paris, from the Kilometre Zero, centre of Paris. ...

, France, unknown architect, 18th century Cartouche bekroond met drietand Second livre de cartouches (serietitel op object), RP-P-2011-164-8.jpg, Rococo cartouche from the Second Livre de Cartouches, 1710–1772, Rijksmuseum Rome Piazza della Rotonda fountain 5.jpg, Baroque cartouche on the Fontana del Pantheon, Rome, by Filippo Barigioni, 1711 file:Toledo39.jpg, Baroque cartouche of the ''El Transparente'' altarpiece, Toledo Cathedral, Toledo, Spain, designed and made by Narciso Tomé, 1729-1732 Plan de Versailles - Gesamtplan von Delagrife 1746 (cropped cartouche).jpg, Rococo cartouche in the corner of a Versailles plan, by Jean Delagrive, 1746, engraving on paper,

Bibliothèque nationale de France The (; BnF) is the national library of France, located in Paris on two main sites, ''Richelieu'' and ''François-Mitterrand''. It is the national repository of all that is published in France. Some of its extensive collections, including bo ...

, Paris Coat of arms - Cuvilliés-Theater - Residenz - Munich - Germany 2017.jpg, Rococo cartouche in the Cuvilliés Theatre,

Munich Munich is the capital and most populous city of Bavaria, Germany. As of 30 November 2024, its population was 1,604,384, making it the third-largest city in Germany after Berlin and Hamburg. Munich is the largest city in Germany that is no ...

, Germany, by François de Cuvilliés, 1751-1753 Tureen MET DP119080.jpg, Rococo cartouche on a tureen, by the Sèvres porcelain factory, 1757–1758, soft-paste porcelain, Metropolitan Museum of Art PercyWebsterTradecard.jpg, Rococo engraved tradecard of Percy Webster, clockmaker from London, 1760, engraving, unknown location Pisanie (Romanian term for plaque above the entrance, with building information) that records the erection of the Wallachian academy, 1776-1779, part of the collection of the Bucharest University Museum, shown in the Bucharest Law (02).jpg, Brâncovenesc cartouche on the pisanie that records the erection of the Wallachian academy in Bucharest, Bucharest University Museum, unknown architect or sculptor, 1776 File:Eventail plié, 1998.89.1(3).jpg, Rococo Revival cartouche on a fan, unknown designer and producer, 1850, paper, gouache, gilding,

mother-of-pearl Nacre ( , ), also known as mother-of-pearl, is an organicinorganic composite material produced by some molluscs as an inner shell layer. It is also the material of which pearls are composed. It is strong, resilient, and iridescent. Nacre is ...

, Musée Galliera, Paris Monogram on a cone-shaped vase, part of a pair, by Nicolas Bugeard?, mid-19th century, hard-paste porcelain, painted and gilded, given by Charles Bastien, 1922, inv. 22766 B, Museum of Decorative Arts, Paris.jpg, Rococo Revival cartouche ob a cone-shaped vase, part of a pair, by Nicolas Bugeard?, mid-19th century, hard-paste porcelain, painted and gilded, Museum of Decorative Arts, Paris File:Pitcher (England), 1855 (CH 18633373).jpg, Renaissance Revival cartouches on a pitcher decorated with coats of arms, unknown artist or producer, 1855, porcelain, overglaze enameling and gilding, Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum, New York City File:Vitrine, meuble rotonde, WPPO00097(7).jpg, Renaissance Revival cartouches on a display case, designed by Eugène Prignot and Albert-Ernest Carrier de Belleuse, and sculpted by Bernard, 1867, wood and ivory,

Petit Palais The (; ) is an art museum in the 8th arrondissement of Paris, France. Built for the Exposition Universelle (1900), 1900 Exposition Universelle ("universal exhibition"), it now houses the City of Paris Museum of Fine Arts (''Musée des beaux-arts ...

, Paris Siège CL coin.jpg, Beaux Arts cartouche with a

caduceus The caduceus (☤; ; , ) is the staff carried by Hermes in Greek mythology and consequently by Hermes Trismegistus in Greco-Egyptian mythology. The same staff was borne by other heralds like Iris (mythology), Iris, the messenger of Hera. The s ...

, on the roof of the Crédit Lyonnais headquarters ( Boulevard des Italiens no. 17-23), Paris, by William Bouwens van der Boijen, 1876-1883 File:Académie d'agriculture de France, 18 rue de Bellechasse, Paris 7e 2.jpg, Beaux Arts cartouche with a mascaron, above the entrance door of the Académie d'Agriculture de France, Paris, unknown architect, 1878 File:Numéro 009, Rue des Archives (Paris).jpg, Renaissance Revival cartouche of Rue des Archives no. 9, Paris, unknown architect, 1880 Piédestal Monument République Paris 1.jpg, Beaux Arts mascaron on the Monument à la République by

Place de la République The Place de la République (; English: Republic Square; known until 1879 as the Place du Château d'Eau, ) is a square in Paris, located on the border between the 3rd, 10th and 11th arrondissements. The square has an area of .Warner, p. 250 ...

, Paris, sculpted by Léopold Morice and designed by François-Charles Morice, 1883 Toulon-Barthélemy.jpg, Renaissance Revival polychrome cartouche on the facade of the Toulon Art Museum, designed by Gaudensi Allar and sculpted by Victorien Bastet, 1888 45 Strada Nicolae Filipescu, Bucharest (04).jpg, Neoclassical cartouche on a Pompeian style wall in Strada Nicolae Filipescu no. 45,

, unknown architect or painter, 1890 File:Maison Paul Hankar, rue Defacqz, sgraffite de la façade avec millésime.JPG,

Art Nouveau Art Nouveau ( ; ; ), Jugendstil and Sezessionstil in German, is an international style of art, architecture, and applied art, especially the decorative arts. It was often inspired by natural forms such as the sinuous curves of plants and ...

sgraffito (; ) is an artistic or decorative technique of scratching through a coating on a hard surface to reveal parts of another underlying coating which is in a contrasting colour. It is produced on walls by applying layers of plaster tinted in con ...

cartouche on the Hankar House,

Brussels Brussels, officially the Brussels-Capital Region, (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) is a Communities, regions and language areas of Belgium#Regions, region of Belgium comprising #Municipalit ...

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

, sgraffito by Adolphe Crespin, 1893 133 Calea Călărașilor, Bucharest (07).jpg, Neoclassical cartouches in and under a

pediment Pediments are a form of gable in classical architecture, usually of a triangular shape. Pediments are placed above the horizontal structure of the cornice (an elaborated lintel), or entablature if supported by columns.Summerson, 130 In an ...

of the Traian Hall ( Calea Călărașilor no. 133), Bucharest, by Giulio Magno, 1896 Paris - Le Pont Alexandre III - 220.JPG, Beaux-Arts cartouche of the Pont Alexandre III, Paris, designed by

Joseph Cassien-Bernard Joseph is a common male name, derived from the Hebrew (). "Joseph" is used, along with "Josef (given name), Josef", mostly in English, French and partially German languages. This spelling is also found as a variant in the languages of the mode ...

and Gaston Cousin, 1896-1900 File:4 Bulevardul Lascăr Catargiu, Bucharest (01).jpg, Art Nouveau cartouche on the Alexandru Gr. Ionescu House ( Bulevardul Lascăr Catargiu no. 4), Bucharest, by Eduard Romantxo, 1898 Detail with Rococo Revival stuccos in the room where tickets and souvenirs are sold, inside the George Enescu Museum.jpg, Rococo Revival stucco with cartouches in the corners on a ceiling of the Cantacuzino Palace, Bucharest, by Ion D. Berindey, 1898-1906 1 Intrarea Costache Negri, Bucharest (01).jpg, Complex Beaux Arts cartouche of Intrarea Costache Negri no. 1, Bucharest, unknown architect, 1899 File:HotelVavasseur-P16-004.jpg, Beaux Arts cartouche above the entrance of the Hôtel Le Vavasseur ( Rue Boissière no. 21), Paris, by Ernest Sanson, 1899 File:Saint-Gilles avenue Brugmann 55.jpg, Art Nouveau sgraffito cartouche of the Maison les Hiboux (Avenue Brugmann no. 53), Brussels, by Édouard Pelseneer, 1899 Boulangerie 19 rue Montgallet à Paris le 19 août 2015 - 6.jpg, Beaux Arts cartouche on facade of the Cozette Boulangerie ( Rue Montgallet no. 19), Paris, unknown architect or painter, late 19th century File:Portico monumental Jules-Félix Coutan, Paris 6e 20140131 1 (cropped cartouche).jpg, Stylized Beaux Arts cartouche of the Monumental Portico Jules-Félix Coutan in the Square Félix-Desruelles, Paris, by Jules Coutan or Charles-Auguste Risler, before 1900 File:Pałac Dietla 40.JPG, Rococo Revival cartouche in the bathroom of the Dietel Palace, Sosnowiec,

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

, by architect Waligórski, 1900 File:Saint-Gilles 10 Pl.ace Louis Morichar 803.jpg, Art Nouveau sgraffito cartouche on Place Louis Morichar no. 10, Brussels, unknown artist, 1900 File:Meuse, Mairie d'Euville 6333.jpg, Stylized Art Nouveau cartouche with the RF monogram (which stands for Republique Française) on a ceiling of the Town Hall of Euville, France, by Henri Gutton, 1901-1909 File:Pont bir hakeim paris riveteurs.jpg, Beaux Arts cartouche of the Pont de Bir-Hakeim, Paris, by Jean Camille Formigé, Louis Biette and Daydé & Pillé, 1903-1905 File:17 Strada Romulus, Bucharest (03).jpg,

Gothic Revival Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic or neo-Gothic) is an Architectural style, architectural movement that after a gradual build-up beginning in the second half of the 17th century became a widespread movement in the first half ...

shield A shield is a piece of personal armour held in the hand, which may or may not be strapped to the wrist or forearm. Shields are used to intercept specific attacks, whether from close-ranged weaponry like spears or long ranged projectiles suc ...

-like cartouches on the Hermann I.Rieber carriage factory ( Strada Romulus no. 17), Bucharest, by Siegfrid Kofczinsky, 1903 7 Strada C. A. Rosetti, Bucharest (03).jpg, Gothic Revival cartouche with initial on a door of the Vasile Zottu House ( Strada C.A. Rosetti no. 7), Bucharest, unknown architect, 1909 File:60, Bulevardul Dacia, Bucharest (Romania) 1.jpg, Romanian Revival cartouche above a window of the Aurel Mincu House ( Bulevardul Dacia no. 60), Bucharest, by Arghir Culina, 1910 Paris Plaque Rue Agar.jpg, Highly stylized Art Nouveau cartouche on Rue Jean-de-La-Fontaine no. 21, Paris, by

Hector Guimard Hector Guimard (, 10 March 1867 – 20 May 1942) was a French architect and designer, and a prominent figure of the Art Nouveau style. He achieved early fame with his design for the Castel Beranger, the first Art Nouveau apartment building i ...

, 1911 4 Strada Polonă, Bucharest (13).jpg,

Greek Revival Greek Revival architecture is a architectural style, style that began in the middle of the 18th century but which particularly flourished in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, predominantly in northern Europe, the United States, and Canada, ...

cartouche of a horse tie ring of the Adina and Emil Costinescu House ( Strada Polonă no. 4), Bucharest, by Ion D. Berindey, 1911-1915 File:Eventail publicitaire Au Bon Marché, 2021.3.4(2).jpg,

cartouche on a fan, produced by Au Bon Marché, 1920-1925,

vellum Vellum is prepared animal skin or membrane, typically used as writing material. It is often distinguished from parchment, either by being made from calfskin (rather than the skin of other animals), or simply by being of a higher quality. Vellu ...

, stamping, wood, metal, and silver plating, Musée Galliera File:The National Diet Building 国会議事堂 - panoramio.jpg, Art Deco cartouche above the entrance columns of the National Diet Building,

Kyoto Kyoto ( or ; Japanese language, Japanese: , ''Kyōto'' ), officially , is the capital city of Kyoto Prefecture in the Kansai region of Japan's largest and most populous island of Honshu. , the city had a population of 1.46 million, making it t ...

, by Fukuzo Watanabe, 1920-1936 PKiN tablica 1955.jpg, Stalinist cartouche of the

Palace of Culture and Science The Palace of Culture and Science (; abbreviated ''PKiN'') is a notable high-rise building in central Warsaw, Poland. With a total height of , it is the second tallest building in both Warsaw and Poland (after the Varso Tower), the sixth talle ...

Warsaw Warsaw, officially the Capital City of Warsaw, is the capital and List of cities and towns in Poland, largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the Vistula, River Vistula in east-central Poland. Its population is officially estimated at ...

, by Lev Rudnev, 1952-1955

Postmodernism and Retro resuses

At the end of the WW2, with the rise in popularity of the

International Style The International Style is a major architectural style and movement that began in western Europe in the 1920s and dominated modern architecture until the 1970s. It is defined by strict adherence to Functionalism (architecture), functional and Fo ...

, characterized by the complete lack of any ornamentation, led to the complete abandonment of any ornaments, including cartouches. They reappear later in some

Postmodernism Postmodernism encompasses a variety of artistic, Culture, cultural, and philosophical movements that claim to mark a break from modernism. They have in common the conviction that it is no longer possible to rely upon previous ways of depicting ...

, a movement that questioned

Modernism Modernism was an early 20th-century movement in literature, visual arts, and music that emphasized experimentation, abstraction, and Subjectivity and objectivity (philosophy), subjective experience. Philosophy, politics, architecture, and soc ...

(the

status quo is a Latin phrase meaning the existing state of affairs, particularly with regard to social, economic, legal, environmental, political, religious, scientific or military issues. In the sociological sense, the ''status quo'' refers to the curren ...

after WW2), and which promoted the inclusion of elements of historic styles in new designs. An early text questioning Modernism was by architect

Robert Venturi Robert Charles Venturi Jr. (June 25, 1925 – September 18, 2018) was an American architect, founding principal of the firm Venturi, Scott Brown and Associates. Together with his wife and partner, Denise Scott Brown, he helped shape the way that ...

, ''Complexity and Contradiction in Architecture'' (1966), in which he recommended a revival of the 'presence of the past' in architectural design. He tried to include in his own buildings qualities that he described as 'inclusion, inconsistency, compromise, accommodation, adaptation, superadjacency, equivalence, multiple focus, juxtaposition, or good and bad space.' Venturi encouraged 'quotation', which means reusing elements of the past in new designs. Part manifesto, part architectural scrapbook accumulated over the previous decade, the book represented the vision for a new generation of architects and designers who had grown up with Modernism but who felt increasingly constrained by its perceived rigidities. Multiple Postmodern architects and designers put simplified reinterpretations of the elements found in Classical decoration on their creations. However, they were in most cases highly simplified, and more reinterpretations than true reuses of the elements intended. Because of their complexity, cartouches were extremely rarely used in Postmodern architecture and design. Cartouches enjoyed more popularity in Retro style of the 21st century, through designs inspired mainly by the 18th and 19th centuries. File:PiazzaDItalia1990 (cropped mascarons).jpg,

Postmodern Postmodernism encompasses a variety of artistic, cultural, and philosophical movements that claim to mark a break from modernism. They have in common the conviction that it is no longer possible to rely upon previous ways of depicting the wo ...

mascarons in cartouches spilling water in Piazza d'Italia,

New Orleans New Orleans (commonly known as NOLA or The Big Easy among other nicknames) is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 383,997 at the 2020 ...

, USA, by Charles Moore, 1978 File:Art Nouveau-inspired print on a Vans t-shirt.jpg, Cartouche with an

-inspired print on a Vans t-shirt, unknown fashion designer and illustrator, 2021, print on textile

Footnotes

Works cited

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External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Cartouche (Design) Ornaments Decorative arts Architectural elements Ornaments (architecture)