Valentine
ca. 1860
Medium
Cameo-embossed, open-work lace paper, watercolor, die-cut scraps, gilt and silvered scrap, satin, silk moire, ink
Dimensions
Width: 4 3/4 in. (12.1 cm) Length: 7 1/16 in. (18 cm)
Classification
Ephemera|Drawings|Ornament & Architecture
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Gift of Mrs. Richard Riddell, 1981
Accession Number
1981.1136.648
Art Historical Context
Step into the sentimental world of Victorian romance with *Valentine*, an exquisite anonymous creation from around 1860, now housed in the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Drawings and Prints department Measuring just 4¾ by 7 inches, this delicate ephemera piece captures the era's passion for elaborate love tokens, exchanged on February 14th to express affection. Its classification as ornament and architecture highlights the intricate decorative artistry that transformed simple paper into a three-dimensional treasure. Crafted with masterful mixed-media techniques, the valentine features cameo-emb...
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...