Neu künstlich Modelbuch (page 32r) 1598

This is page 32 from "New Artificial Pattern Book," made around 1568 by Bernhard Jobin in Strasbourg, then a center of printing and commerce. This woodcut was one of many designs that needle workers could follow to create geometric and floral patterns. The image creates meaning through visual codes that would have been familiar to the women of the rising merchant class. Manuals such as this one, combined with new forms of printed imagery, gave them access to elite visual cultures previously closed off. These patterns were used to decorate household linens, clothing, and religious vestments. The Protestant Reformation, with its emphasis on personal piety, gave women a larger role to play in religious and domestic life, and pattern books helped them fulfill their new responsibilities. Historians study these manuals to understand the changing status of women and the intersection of art, religion, and commerce.