Corona delle Nobili et Virtuose Donne: Libro I-IV, page 28 (recto)

Cesare Vecellio

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Published by Cesare Vecellio, Italian, Pieve di Cadore 1521-1601 Venice, Venice. From top to bottom, and left to right: Design composed of 4 horizontal registers that form a corner. Top register is decorated with a pattern of 2 composite male figures with foliage forming their lower half that hold onto either side of an urn; in the center of this register is a warrior figure inside of 5-sided shape formed by vines. Second register is decorated with a curving vine interspersed throughout it are birds, dogs, and composite human creatures. Third register is decorated with a curving vine among which are dogs, birds, and snakes. Fourth register is decorated with a pattern of triangular motifs ornamented with a central floral motif.

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