Pretiosa Gemma delle virtuose donne, page 10 (recto)

Pretiosa Gemma delle virtuose donne, page 10 (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 composed of 2 horizontal registers. Top register is decorated with 3 triangle motifs: the left and right triangles are ornamented with a floral pattern, whereas the middle triangle is ornamented with a bird. Bottom register is decorated with 3 ornamented squares: left and right squares have the same pattern characterized by a bird above a column; the middle square is ornamented with a diamond enclosing a circle with a central floral pattern.

Drawings and Prints

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Pretiosa Gemma delle virtuose donne, page 10 (recto)Pretiosa Gemma delle virtuose donne, page 10 (recto)Pretiosa Gemma delle virtuose donne, page 10 (recto)Pretiosa Gemma delle virtuose donne, page 10 (recto)Pretiosa Gemma delle virtuose donne, page 10 (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.