Pair of pilasters with grotesques. Spain, first half of the 16th century. Carved, gilded and polychrome wood. Measurements: 129 x 27 cm. Pair of pilasters of the Castilian Renaissance school, carved in wood with representation of candelieri type grotesques, an ornamental genre which was very popular during the 16th century, developing on the walls of palace halls all over Europe, also influencing ecclesiastical decoration. Here we bring together two pilasters whose compositions differ subtly in the way they recombine their elements: vases, fountains, borders and hybrid creatures intertwine to form imaginative ramifications. The putti grow tails or bat wings. This is a characteristic aspect of the grotesque: the inventiveness and mixture of the human, vegetal, celestial and mineral realms. On the gilded backgrounds, the decorations are carved in polychrome bas-reliefs. At the beginning of the 16th century, Spain became the European nation best prepared to receive the new humanist concepts of life and art because of its spiritual, political and economic conditions, although from the point of view of plastic forms, its adaptation of those introduced by Italy was slower due to the need to learn the new techniques and to change the taste of the clientele. Sculpture reflects perhaps better than other artistic fields this desire to return to the classical Greco-Roman world, which exalts the individuality of man, creating a new style whose vitality goes beyond mere copying. The grotesque is a decorative motif derived from the decoration of "grottoes" from Roman times, discovered by archaeologists in the 15th century and reinvented during the Renaissance and Baroque periods to decorate palaces and villas.