Teatro delle Nobili et Virtuose Donne..., page 33 (recto)

Teatro delle Nobili et Virtuose Donne..., page 33 (recto)

Isabella Catanea Parasole

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Written by Isabella Catanea Parasole, Italian, ca. 1575-ca. 1625, published by Mauritio Bona, Rome. From top to bottom, and left to right: Design composed of 4 horizontal registers that form a corner. First register is decorated with a pattern of rounded triangular motifs that are each ornamented in the center with a flower. Second register is decorated with squares that are ornamented with an alternating pattern of a quatrefoil and a circular motif. Third register is decorated with a pattern of diamonds containing a central floral motif. Fourth register is decorated with the same pattern as that of the second register.

Drawings and Prints

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Teatro delle Nobili et Virtuose Donne..., page 33 (recto)Teatro delle Nobili et Virtuose Donne..., page 33 (recto)Teatro delle Nobili et Virtuose Donne..., page 33 (recto)Teatro delle Nobili et Virtuose Donne..., page 33 (recto)Teatro delle Nobili et Virtuose Donne..., page 33 (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.