In architecture and decorative art, a mural or sculptural decoration combining animal, human, and plant forms.
The word derives from the Italian grottesco , in reference to the grottolike underground rooms ( grotte ) where such ornaments were found during the excavation of Roman buildings с 1500. The grotesque was revived in the Renaissance, and a fashion for it in 16th-century Italy quickly spread to the rest of Europe; it was used most frequently in fresco decoration (painted, carved, or molded) until the 19th century.