Pretiosa Gemma delle virtuose donne, page 11 (recto)

Pretiosa Gemma delle virtuose donne, page 11 (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 main horizontal sections that are framed on the top and bottom by decorative borders. Upper section is decorated with 4 squares ornamented with a circular motifs (first and second squares have the same pattern). Lower section is decorated with 5 squares; the first square consists of 2 parts, each with the same pattern, while the second and third squares have the same pattern and the fourth and fifth squares have the same pattern.

Drawings and Prints

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Pretiosa Gemma delle virtuose donne, page 11 (recto)Pretiosa Gemma delle virtuose donne, page 11 (recto)Pretiosa Gemma delle virtuose donne, page 11 (recto)Pretiosa Gemma delle virtuose donne, page 11 (recto)Pretiosa Gemma delle virtuose donne, page 11 (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.