Portrait of the Duke of Northumberland, Vase and Ornamental Frame, no. CCCLXXI, plate 56 from "Designs for Various Ornaments"
Medium
Etching
Dimensions
Plate: 17 11/16 × 11 5/16 in. (45 × 28.8 cm) Sheet: 21 3/16 x 14 3/4 in. (53.8 x 37.5 cm)
Classification
Prints|Ornament & Architecture
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Bequest of Herbert Mitchell, 2008
Accession Number
2018.839.40
Art Historical Context
Welcome to the Metropolitan Museum of's Drawings and Prints collection! This etching, titled *Portrait of the Duke of, Vase and Oral Frame* (no. CCCLXXI, plate 56 from *Designs for Variousnaments*), dates to July 26, 1792. It showcases a refined portrait of Hugh Percy, 1st Duke of Northumberland—a prominent British aristocrat and landowner—framed by an elaborate ornamental border and a decorative vase. Created by a collaborative team including Italian ornamental designer Michelangelo Pergolesi, along with Pierre Nöel Violet, Ignatius Joseph van den Berghe, this print exemplifies the neoclassic...
About the Artist
Michelangelo Pergolesi|Pierre Nöel Violet|Ignatius Joseph van den Berghe|Hugh Percy, 1st Duke of Northumberland · 1760–1801
Michelangelo Pergolesi (1760–1801) was an Italian decorative artist, draughtsman, engraver, and designer whose career bridged Rome and London, profoundly influencing neoclassical interiors during the late 18th century. Little is known of his early life or formal training, with biographical details sparsely documented. Likely inspired by classical antiquity and the era's archaeological fervor, incl...