Notes on the all’antica details in Central Italian painting of the late 15th–early 16th century

The article addresses the origins and functionality of some elements of the Tuscan painting at the turn of the XV–XVI centuries. A diligent study of Roman antiquities not only broadened the artists' ornament and décor array but also facilitated the gradual «emancipation» of classical details. Often, they acquired a function of a structural element that ultimately led to structural changes in altarpieces and cassone and spalliera painting. At the same time, their symbolism became deeper. Painted en grisaille to imitate bronze or stone pieces, these elements were easily perceived as foreign to the main subject of an artwork, by thus acquiring the function of a comment.