While the subject of this unique plaque is acrobats, its larger theme is the physical and mental agility that underlies the goal of virtuosity so important to artists and patrons of this period. Acrobatics permit the display of masculine agility and strength for their own sake, without an underlying narrative. The contrast with the contained rhythms of the "Plaque with the Three Graces" (Walters 44.219) is striking.
The use of "grisaille" accentuates the abstract aspects of the design at the expense of realism. The artist's point of departure may be a design by Juste de Juste (also known as Guisti Betti, 1505-59), a Florentine sculptor who was employed at the Palace of Fontainebleau. The manipulation of anatomy for aesthetic effect is characteristic of the mannerist style that flourished there.
<bdi><a href="https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q19569733" class="extiw" title="d:Q19569733"><span title="French enameler and glass painter">Pierre Pénicaud</span></a>
</bdi>
circa 1550 <div style="display: none;">date QS:P571,+1550-00-00T00:00:00Z/9,P1480,Q5727902</div> (<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/en:Renaissance" class="extiw" title="w:en:Renaissance"><span title="cultural movement that spanned the period roughly from the 14th to the 17th century">Renaissance</span></a><div style="display: none;">era QS:P2348,Q4692</div>)
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