Giardineto novo di punti tagliati et gropposi per exercitio & ornamento delle donne (Venice 1554), page 22 (verso) 1554

Curator: The Metropolitan Museum of Art holds this fascinating page from “Giardineto novo di punti tagliati et gropposi,” printed in Venice in 1554. It's attributed to Matteo Pagano. Editor: My first thought is just how intricate it is. All those tiny squares, filled with different patterns. It reminds me of needlepoint. Curator: That's perceptive. This wasn't meant to hang on a wall but rather was a pattern book. “Giardineto novo,” meaning “new little garden,” showcases designs for lace making and embroidery. It served as a crucial resource for women of the time. Editor: So it’s a manual. The material reality of the book then would be crucial, isn't it? It's designed for practical use, the size, the paper stock – likely cheaper to allow for mass production and therefore greater access to these designs. Curator: Absolutely. Consider the societal role too. Books like this gave women control over their creative output and maybe a way to enter into trade as skilled embroiderers and lace makers. The availability of this knowledge could impact social mobility in Venice at the time. Editor: It makes you think about the labour involved – the original artist devising the pattern, the engraver meticulously translating that into woodcut, the printer… and finally the lacemaker themselves, turning these flat patterns into tangible three-dimensional objects. A real collaborative process, spread across different skillsets and likely different social classes. Curator: That also speaks to the democratization of art in the 16th century, the advent of printing technology played a huge role in. The proliferation of images like this impacted social norms. Editor: I agree; this isn’t just a pattern. It speaks volumes about production, material culture, and the crucial, often unseen, labour of women. Curator: Precisely, by investigating these pieces, it allows us to glimpse into early modern society. Editor: And reminds us of the many hands, quite literally, involved in the making of even the simplest designs.