Book cover with yellow and green striped floral pattern
19th century
Medium
Relief print (wood or metal)
Dimensions
Sheet: 7 3/4 × 9 1/2 in. (19.7 × 24.1 cm)
Classification
Prints
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Harris Brisbane Dick Fund, 1940
Accession Number
40.21.48
Art Historical Context
This charming 19th-century book cover, featuring a vibrant yellow and green striped floral pattern exemplifies the decorative arts of its era. Produced anonymously as a relief print—likely from wood or metal blocks—this modest sheet (7 3/4 × 9 1/2 in.) was designed to adorn the front of bound volumes, transforming everyday books into objects of beauty. Acquired through the Harris Brisbane Dick Fund in 1940, it now resides in the Metropolitan Museum of's Department of Drawings and Prints. Relief printing, a technique where ink adheres to raised surfaces carved from blocks, was widely used in t...
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...