Pretiosa Gemma delle virtuose donne, page 4 (recto)

Pretiosa Gemma delle virtuose donne, page 4 (recto)

Isabella Catanea Parasole

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Written by Isabella Catanea Parasole, Italian, ca. 1575-ca. 1625, published by Lucchino Gargano, Venice, bound by Hardy-Mennil. Design is decorated in the center with a spotted bird wearing a crown that is flanked on either side by a vine of leaves and flowers. The border on the top and bottom consists of 2 levels; outter level l is decorated with a foliage pattern and inner level is decorated with a linear pattern.

Drawings and Prints

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Pretiosa Gemma delle virtuose donne, page 4 (recto)Pretiosa Gemma delle virtuose donne, page 4 (recto)Pretiosa Gemma delle virtuose donne, page 4 (recto)Pretiosa Gemma delle virtuose donne, page 4 (recto)Pretiosa Gemma delle virtuose donne, page 4 (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.