Ghirlanda: Di sei vaghi fiori scielti da piu famosi Giardini d'Italia, page 42 (recto) 1604

This is a page from "Ghirlanda: Di sei vaghi fiori scielti da piu famosi Giardini d'Italia", or "Garland of Six Vague Flowers Selected from the Most Famous Gardens of Italy" made in Italy in the early 17th century by Pietro Paulo Tozzi. This book of floral patterns suggests the growing importance of the garden in Italian social life. Aristocratic villas were known for their elaborate gardens, and printed books such as this one helped disseminate the Italian garden style across Europe. Visual codes present include botanical accuracy but also geometric arrangements suitable for the needlework and embroidery that women learned in the home. Such images are valuable to historians because they show the intersection of visual culture and social life. They also point to the role of institutions, such as the family, in the production and consumption of art. We can learn more about this from surviving examples of textiles as well as household inventories. It reminds us that the meaning of art is always contingent on its social and institutional context.