La Gloria et l'Honore di Ponti Tagliati, E Ponti in Aere, page 15 (verso)
1556
Medium
Woodcut
Dimensions
Overall: 8 1/4 x 6 1/8 in. (21 x 15.5 cm)
Classification
Books|Prints|Ornament & Architecture
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Harris Brisbane Dick Fund, 1929
Accession Number
29.59.1(30)
Tags
Art Historical Context
Step into the intricate world of 16th-century Venetian printing with *La Gloria et l'Hon di Ponti Tagli, E Ponti in Aere*, page 15 (verso), a woodcut by Matteo Pagano from 1556. This modest yet masterful page, measuring just 8¼ x 6⅛ inches, hails from a book celebrating the "glory and honor" bridges—both earthly "cut" stone structures and fantastical "aerial" designs. Pagano, a prolific publisher and engraver in Renaissance Venice, specialized in ornamental and architectural prints that served as pattern books for artists, architects, and craftsmen. Rendered in woodcut—a technique prized for ...
About the Artist
Matteo Pagano · 1515–1588
**Matteo Pagano (c. 1515–1588)** was a prominent Venetian printer, publisher, woodcut artist, and illustrator whose innovative designs bridged fine art and the decorative crafts during the Renaissance. Little is known about his early life, which remains sparsely documented, but he began his career as a woodblock cutter, working for the publisher Nicolò Zoppino on pattern books before establishing ...