Ornamento delle belle & virtuose donne, page 13 (recto)

Ornamento delle belle & virtuose donne, page 13 (recto)

Matteo Pagano

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Published by Matteo Pagano, Italian, 1515-1588, Venice, bound by Lloyd, Wallis & Lloyd, British, active London after 1821. From top to bottom, and left to right: Design composed of 4 vertical columns. First is narrow and is decorated with a black-and-white checkerboard pattern. Second is decorated with a pattern of symmetrical birds that flank a heart-shaped vase. Third column is decorated with a central vase with flower that is flanked on either side by a dragon. Fourth column is decorated with a curving vine with leaves; the top half of the column has a white background, whereas the bottom half has a black background.

Drawings and Prints

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Ornamento delle belle & virtuose donne, page 13 (recto)Ornamento delle belle & virtuose donne, page 13 (recto)Ornamento delle belle & virtuose donne, page 13 (recto)Ornamento delle belle & virtuose donne, page 13 (recto)Ornamento delle belle & virtuose donne, page 13 (recto)

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.