Book cover with overall red and green vine pattern
19th century
Medium
Relief print (wood or metal)
Dimensions
Sheet: 14 5/16 × 18 3/4 in. (36.4 × 47.6 cm)
Classification
Prints
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
The Elisha Whittelsey Collection, The Elisha Whittelsey Fund, 1948
Accession Number
48.142.109
Art Historical Context
This 19th-century book cover design, featuring an intricate overall pattern of red and green vines exemplifies the anonymous artistry of decorative printing from the era. Produced as a relief print—likely from carved wood or metal blocks—the sheet measures 14 5/16 × 18 3/4 inches, making it suitable for covering larger volumes. Vine motifs, evoking nature's abundance and organic growth, were a staple in Victorian decorative arts, adorning everything from textiles to bindings as symbols of vitality and elegance. Relief printing, a technique where raised surfaces are inked and pressed onto pape...
About the Artist
Anonymous
In the vast tapestry of art history, "Anonymous" stands not as a singular individual but as a collective designation for countless unidentified creators whose works have endured across millennia. These artists, spanning prehistoric cave painters to medieval illuminators and folk craftsmen, produced the foundational layers of human visual culture. Prior to the Renaissance, when individual fame emer...