Pretiosa Gemma delle virtuose donne, page 29 (recto)

Pretiosa Gemma delle virtuose donne, page 29 (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 that are both framed at the top and bottom by decorative borders that consist of 2 different patterns. Top register is decorated with 4 squares, each containing a diverse quatrefoil motif (third and fourth share the same motif). Bottom register consists of 2 sections: left section is comprised of 4 squares ornamented with an alternating circular motif followed by a floral motif; right section is comprised of 4 squares ornamented with an alternating semi-circular motif followed by a circular motif.

Drawings and Prints

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Pretiosa Gemma delle virtuose donne, page 29 (recto)Pretiosa Gemma delle virtuose donne, page 29 (recto)Pretiosa Gemma delle virtuose donne, page 29 (recto)Pretiosa Gemma delle virtuose donne, page 29 (recto)Pretiosa Gemma delle virtuose donne, page 29 (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.