La Pratique de l'Aiguille, page 29 (recto)
Medium
Woodcut
Dimensions
Overall: 9 1/4 x 7 1/16 in. (23.5 x 18 cm)
Classification
Books|Prints|Ornament & Architecture
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Rogers Fund, 1920
Accession Number
20.50.1(32)
Rights
Public Domain
Tags
Art Historical Context
This woodcut appears on page 29 (recto) of *La Pratique de l’Aiguille*, a 1605 instructional volume on embroidery and ornamental needlework. Produced through the combined efforts of designer Matthias Mignerak, engravers Pierre Fir and Jean Le Clerc, and linked to Marie de’ Medici, the page offers floral and ornamental patterns intended as practical models for artisans. Its classification among books, prints, and architectural ornament underscores its role as both a craft manual and a decorative reference. In the early seventeenth century, such pattern books circulated widely across Europe, helping to spread fashionable motifs from court circles to workshops. The woodcut technique was especially well suited to this purpose: its bold, repeatable lines captured the delicate curves of flowers and scrolling designs while remaining economical to print and distribute. Visitors today can appreciate how these printed pages bridged fine art and domestic craft, preserving ephemeral embroidery patterns that would otherwise have been lost.
About the Artist
Matthias Mignerak|Pierre Firens|Marie de Medici|Jean Le Clerc (Italian| | |French) · 1575 | | |1641 –1642 | | |1641
Florence 1575–1642 Colgne| | |French, born Paris 1641