
Fiori di Ricami Nuovamente Posti in Luce, page 14 (recto)
Matteo Florimi
An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art
Designed by Matteo Florimi, Italian, active Siena, ca. 1581-died 1613, published by Francesco de' Franceschi, Italian, active 16th century, Venice. From top to bottom, and left to right: Design composed of 2 horizontal registers. Top register is decorated with 4 rounded triangular motifs, each ornamented with a different central floral pattern. Bottom register is decorated with a pattern of diamonds that are ornamented with flowers and ovals; these diamonds overlap with large floral motifs at the top and bottom corners.
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.