Ce est ung tractat de la noble art de leguille ascavoir ouvraiges de spaigne... title page (verso)
after 1527
Medium
Woodcut
Dimensions
Overall: 6 7/8 x 5 11/16 in. (17.5 x 14.5 cm)
Classification
Books|(not assigned)|Ornament & Architecture
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Gift of Mary M. Greenwood, in memory of Eliza Rudd Greenwood, 1953
Accession Number
53.566.3(2)
Tags
Art Historical Context
This woodcut serves as the verso of the title page for a rare early pattern book on needlework, printed in Antwerp by Willem Vosterman after 1527. Titled *Ce est ung tractat de la noble art de leguille ascavoir ouvraiges de spaigne*, the publication offered practical designs and instructions for embroidery and lacework in the Spanish style, reflecting the growing European fascination with ornate textile arts during the Renaissance. As a woodcut illustration within a printed book, the image likely depicts men and women engaged in or associated with needlework, underscoring the craft’s role in ...
About the Artist
Willem Vosterman
Willem Vosterman was a Netherlandish engraver and printmaker who worked within the rich tradition of graphic art that flourished in the Low Countries during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. Precise details of his birth, death, and training are not firmly established in the historical record, but his surviving prints reflect the skilled craftsmanship and commercial acuity that characterized...