Design for an Embroidered Frontal
Medium
embroidery & stitching
Classification
embroidery & stitching
Department
Smithsonian Collection
Museum
Smithsonian American Art Museum
Credit
Museum purchase through gift of various donors and from Eleanor G. Hewitt Fund
Accession Number
1938-88-1482
About this artwork
Research in Progress
Art Historical Context
Created around 1780–1790 by Italian artist and designer Giuseppe Barberi (1746–1809), *Design for an Embro Frontal* offers a glimpse into the refined world of late 18th-century ecclesiastical art. Barberi, active in Rome the Neoclassical era, specialized in architectural and decorative designs that blended classical elegance with practical craftsmanship. This piece, now in the Smithsonian American Art Museum's collection (purchased through various donors and the Eleanor G. Hewitt Fund), as a preparatory pattern for a liturgical frontal—likely an altar cloth or vestment panel used in Catholic w...