Fior di virtu hystoriato

Art Historical Context

Created in Pavia on May 7, 1519, by Gianstephano di Carlo da Pavia, *Fior di virtu hystoriato* is a compact printed book measuring just under eight inches tall. Housed in the Metropolitan Museum’s Department of Drawings and Prints, this small volume exemplifies the early-sixteenth-century Italian interest in moral instruction through illustrated texts. Its classification as a book underscores the period’s growing use of print to circulate ethical teachings across a widening audience. The work’s decorative program, hinted at by its tags of animals, men, and trees, suggests lively woodcut or en...