Sheet with overall striped geometric pattern
19th century
Medium
Relief print (wood or metal)
Dimensions
Sheet: 7 15/16 × 5 1/2 in. (20.2 × 14 cm)
Classification
Prints
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Harris Brisbane Dick Fund, 1940
Accession Number
40.21.77
Art Historical Context
This unassuming yet striking *Sheet with overall striped geometric pattern*, anonymously in the 19 century, exemplifies the era's fascination with repeatable motifs for everyday design. Measuring just 7 15/16 × 5 1/2 inches, this relief print—likely produced from a wood or metal block— bold, alternating stripes that create a rhythmic, optical effect. Relief printing, a technique where the raised surface is inked and pressed onto paper, was ideal for efficient production, bridging fine art and commercial applications like textiles, wallpapers, or bookbinding. In the 19th century, amid the Indu...
About the Artist
Anonymous
In the vast tapestry of art history, "Anonymous" stands not as a singular individual but as a collective designation for countless unidentified creators whose works have endured across millennia. These artists, spanning prehistoric cave painters to medieval illuminators and folk craftsmen, produced the foundational layers of human visual culture. Prior to the Renaissance, when individual fame emer...