La Gloria et l'Honore di Ponti Tagliati, E Ponti in Aere, title page (recto)
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(1)
Tags
Art Historical Context
Step into the Renaissance world of Venetian printmaking with *La Gloria et l'Hon di Ponti Tagli, E Ponti in Aere*, a captivating woodcut title page created by Matteo Pagano in 1556. Pagano, a prominent Venetian publisher and engraver, was renowned for his intricate designs in books on architecture and ornamentation. This recto page, measuring 8 1/4 x 6 1/8 inches, exemplifies the woodcut medium—a relief printing technique where the artist carves away negative space from a wooden block, allowing bold, graphic lines to emerge when inked and pressed onto paper. Ideal for book illustrations, it br...
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 ...