Le Pompe: Opera Nova, title page (recto)
Medium
Woodcut
Dimensions
Overall: 8 1/16 x 5 7/8 in. (20.5 x 15 cm)
Classification
Books|Prints|Ornament & Architecture
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Harris Brisbane Dick Fund, 1937
Accession Number
37.74(1)
Art Historical Context
Step into the vibrant world of Renaissance Venice with *Le Pompe: Opera Nova title page (recto, a masterful woodcut created in 1557 by the printer-publishers Giovanni Battista and March Sessa. Measuring just 8 1/16 x 5 7/8 inches, this intricate title page served as the grand entrance to a "new work" on pomp and splendor—likely a pattern book brimming with ornamental designs and architectural motifs, as classified in the Metropolitan Museum of Art's and Prints department. Woodcuts like this one were a hallmark of 16th-century printing innovation, where skilled engravers carved intricate image...
About the Artist
Giovanni Battista & Marchio Sessa
Giovanni Battista and Marchio Sessa were prominent Venetian printers, publishers, and booksellers active in the vibrant printing hub of Renaissance Venice from the mid-16th century through 1602. Operating as a family partnership—likely brothers or close kin—they contributed significantly to the dissemination of ornamental designs during a period when Venice dominated Europe's graphic arts scene. T...