Livre de Moresques, page 10 (verso)

Art Historical Context

Welcome to the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Drawings and Prints department, where we encounter *Livre de Mores, page 10 (verso)*, a captivating woodcut from 154. Created through the collaborative talents of Hiérosme de Gorm, Cornelis Bos, Francesco di Pellegrino, page is part of a renowned Renaissance pattern book dedicated to ornamental designs. Measuring 12 x 8 5/16 inches, it exemplifies the era's fascination with intricate "moresques"—elaborate, interlacing motifs inspired by Islamic art, adapted into European decorative vocabulary. Woodcuts like this one were revolutionary for their reproducibility, allowing artisans across Europe—goldsmiths, architects, and textile designers—to replicate sophisticated patterns without direct access to originals. Published in the mid-16th century, the *Livre de Moresques* bridged Northern and Southern Renaissance styles, blending Flemish precision with Italian elegance. Cornelis Bos, a key figure in Antwerp's printing scene, and his contemporaries popularized these strapwork and arabesque forms, influencing everything from book illustrations to palace interiors. This acquisition, thanks to the Harris Brisbane Dick Fund in 1926, highlights the book's enduring legacy in ornament and architecture. Visitors today can appreciate how such pages fueled the decorative exuberance of the Renaissance, turning abstract elegance into a shared visual language.

About the Artist

Hiérosme de Gormont|Cornelis Bos|Francesco di Pellegrino (Netherlandish|French) · 1510 | –1556 |

Netherlandish, Hertogenbosch ca. 1510?–before 1556 Groningen|