Les Secondes Oeuvres, et Subtiles Inventions De Lingerie du Seigneur Federic de Vinciolo Venitien, page 44 (recto) 1603

This is an image from a book by Federico de Vinciolo, a Venetian, published around 1600. It’s a woodcut, a relief printing process. The artist carves away the negative space from a block of wood, leaving behind the lines of the design. In this case, we see patterns intended for needle lace. Lace was highly prized in the Renaissance for its delicacy and refinement, and also for the sheer labor involved in its production. Vinciolo’s pattern books were meant for use by skilled needleworkers who catered to wealthy clients. The grid that you see in the background is there to guide the maker. The image itself offers an idealized vision of nature, populated by classical figures, dogs, and deer. The density of detail, rendered through a laborious process, is a testament to the value that early modern Europeans placed on refinement, luxury, and above all, skilled hand work. Consider how different this is from our world, where patterns can be produced by machines. Vinciolo’s book speaks to a time when such images could only be achieved by dedicated labor.