Vari disegni di merletti

Bartolomeo Danieli

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Bartolomeo Danieli published five books of lace patterns between 1610 and 1639. The early seventeenth century was a key period in the development of early lace techniques. Lacemakers developed both needle and bobbin lace techniques that eliminated the need for a woven base, thus permitting less geometric, more free-flowing and pictorial lace designs. Danieli's designs show a thorough knowledge of these new techniques. Danieli was not the only Italian producing lace pattern books at this time; at least two other designers of note, Cesare Vecellio and Isabetta Catanea Parasole, also published books during the late sixteenth and early seventeenth century. However, Danieli's work represents the height of Italian lace design, exemplified by the delicacy of his etchings and the opulent patterns.

Drawings and Prints

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

The Department’s vast collection of works on paper comprises approximately 21,000 drawings, 1.2 million prints, and 12,000 illustrated books created in Europe and the Americas from about 1400 to the present day. Since its foundation in 1916, the Department has been committed to collecting a wide range of works on paper, which includes both pieces that are incredibly rare and lauded for their aesthetic appeal, as well as material that is more popular, functional, and ephemeral. The broad scope of the department’s collecting encourages questions of connoisseurship as well as those pertaining to function and context, and demonstrates the vital role that prints, drawings, and illustrated books have played throughout history.

Metropolitan Museum of Art