Esemplario di lavori, page 16 (recto)
August 1529
Medium
Woodcut (pages inlaid, modern vellum binding)
Dimensions
9 5/16 x 7 1/4 x 15/16 in. (23.7 x 18.4 x 2.4 cm)
Classification
Books|Prints|Ornament & Architecture
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Rogers Fund, 1921
Accession Number
21.98(31)
Art Historical Context
Step into the intricate world of Renaissance design with *Esemplario di lavori, 16 (recto)*, a woodcut page from a pattern book created by the Venetian printer Nicolò Zoppino in August1529. Zoppino, a prolific publisher known for disseminating artistic motifs, produced this *esemplario*—or model book—as a practical guide for artisans. These books were essential tools, offering repeatable patterns for embroidery, lace-making, metalwork, and architecture, bridging the gap between elite workshops and everyday craftspeople across Europe. Printed via woodcut—a relief technique where intricate desi...
About the Artist
Nicolò Zoppino · 1478–1544
Nicolò Zoppino was an Italian printer and publisher active in Venice and other Italian cities during the first half of the sixteenth century, occupying an important place in the history of early printing and book illustration. Born around 1478, he worked during the golden age of Venetian printing, a period when the city was the dominant center of book production in Europe and publishers competed t...