Teatro delle Nobili et Virtuose Donne..., page 37 (recto)

Teatro delle Nobili et Virtuose Donne..., page 37 (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 consists of a central section that is divided into halves and framed on the left by a decorative border labeled "P. 36" and on the right by a decorative border labeled "P. 22." Left side of middle section is comprised of 5 half-registers that are ornamented with various floral and foliage patterns formed by geometric shapes and curvilinear lines. The registers are labeled in the following order (from top to bottom): "P. 16," "P. 36," "P. 24," "P. 38," "P. 18." Similar to the left side, right side of middle section is comprised of 5 half-registers that are ornamented with various floral and foliage patterns formed by geometric shapes and curvilinear lines. The registers are labeled in the following order (from top to bottom): "P. 18," "P. 34," "P. 36," "P. 33," "P.18."

Drawings and Prints

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Teatro delle Nobili et Virtuose Donne..., page 37 (recto)Teatro delle Nobili et Virtuose Donne..., page 37 (recto)Teatro delle Nobili et Virtuose Donne..., page 37 (recto)Teatro delle Nobili et Virtuose Donne..., page 37 (recto)Teatro delle Nobili et Virtuose Donne..., page 37 (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.