Valentine
1880
Medium
White card, chromolithography, gold lithography
Dimensions
Width: 4 in. (10.2 cm) Length: 2 11/16 in. (6.9 cm)
Classification
Ephemera|Prints
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Gift of Mrs. Richard Riddell, 1981
Accession Number
1981.1136.837
Art Historical Context
Step into the sentimental world of Victorian romance with *Valentine*, an anonymous chromolithograph greeting card from 1880, now housed in The Metropolitan Museum of Art's Drawings and Prints department. just 4 by 2 11/16 inches, this delicate piece on white card stock was designed for intimate exchange, its petite size perfect for slipping into a pocket or envelope. The use of chromolithographyprinting vibrant colors from multiple lithographic stones—combined with shimmering gold lithography, created an affordable yet luxurious effect, mimicking hand-painted artistry for the masses. In the ...
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...