Design for Cartouches Decorated with Sea-Shells, Garlands, Foliage, Volutes and Urns
1609–60
Medium
Leadpoint
Dimensions
11-1/2 x 7-5/8 in. (29.2 x 19.4 cm) irregular borders
Classification
Drawings
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
The Elisha Whittelsey Collection, The Elisha Whittelsey Fund, 1957
Accession Number
57.581.53
Tags
Art Historical Context
Agostino Mitelli, a masterful Italian engraver and ornamental designer from Bologna (1609–1660), this intricate *Design for Cartouches Decorated with Sea-Shells Garlands, Foli, Volutes and Urns* the Baroque era. Render in leadpoint—a precise silvery drawing medium favored for fine lines and subtle tonal effects—this preparatory showcases Mitelli's expertise grotesque ornamentation. The irregular borders (11-1/2 x 7-5/8 in.) an exuberant composition of swirling cartouches—elaborate scroll-like frames—adorned with playful motifs like cascading garlands, fantastical sea-shells, foliage, volutes, ...