Lucidario di Recami, page 4 (recto) 1564

This is page four from Iseppo Foresto's "Lucidario di Recami", created sometime in the mid-16th century, using woodcut on paper. Here, we see the beauty of early printmaking used to disseminate patterns for embroidery. The crisp lines and repeating motifs, all born from the precise carving of wood, speaks to the value placed on craft in Renaissance society, when books like these were luxury items. Consider the skill needed to translate delicate needlework into the relatively crude medium of wood. These pattern books democratized design, moving away from unique, one-off creations. They allowed for wider participation in craft and the standardization of aesthetic preferences. So, while seemingly simple, this page represents a pivotal moment in the history of craft: the moment when handwork met mechanical reproduction, and the rise of a new kind of visual culture.