Pretiosa Gemma delle virtuose donne, page 15 (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 4 horizontal registers. First register is decorated with 5 ornamented squares; the first and second squares share the same pattern, while the third, fourth, and fifth squares share another pattern. Second register is divided into 2 sections: left side is ornamented with a circular and linear motif and right side is ornamented with a diamond and quatrefoil motif. Third register is decorated with 5 ornamented squares; the first and second squares share the same pattern, while the third, fourth, and fifth squares share another pattern. Fourth register is decorated with 5 ornamented squares; only the third and fifth squares share the same pattern.

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.

Metropolitan Museum of Art