Pretiosa Gemma delle virtuose donne, page 27 (recto) 1600

This is page 27 from “Pretiosa Gemma delle virtuose donne,” or “Precious Gem for Virtuous Women,” a book of lace-making patterns made by Isabella Catanea Parasole, sometime between 1585 and 1625. As a pattern book, the image has a practical function, but it also speaks to the social conditions of its time, and the social role of art. This was a period in which new forms of print culture, such as the pattern book, were increasingly important in the transmission of visual information, and in which women were beginning to play an increasingly important role in the production of art. We can research the place of women within the guilds, workshops, and academies of early modern Europe, and by researching the textile industry and the fashion of the time, we can better understand the place of lace making within Italian society.