Ce est ung tractat de la noble art de leguille ascavoir ouvraiges de spaigne... page 12 (recto)
after 1527
Medium
Woodcut
Dimensions
Overall: 6 7/8 x 5 11/16 in. (17.5 x 14.5 cm)
Classification
Books|(not assigned)|Ornament & Architecture
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Gift of Mary M. Greenwood, in memory of Eliza Rudd Greenwood, 1953
Accession Number
53.566.3(23)
Rights
Public Domain
Tags
Art Historical Context
This woodcut appears on page 12 recto of a rare early pattern book printed in Antwerp by Willem Vosterman after 1527. The volume, titled *Ce est ung tractat de la noble art de leguille ascavoir ouvraiges de spaigne*, offered practical designs for embroidery and needlework, reflecting the growing demand for ornamental patterns among European artisans and gentlewomen during the Renaissance. Printed from carved woodblocks, the image belongs to the Metropolitan Museum’s collection of books on ornament and architecture. Such publications played an important role in disseminating decorative motifs across borders, allowing readers to replicate intricate details in textiles and household furnishings. The presence of acorn motifs on this page highlights the period’s fondness for natural forms drawn from the surrounding world. Measuring just under seven inches tall, the sheet demonstrates how modest printed pages could carry sophisticated design ideas into workshops and homes alike, preserving both technical instruction and aesthetic taste for later generations.
About the Artist
Willem Vosterman
Willem Vosterman was a Netherlandish engraver and printmaker who worked within the rich tradition of graphic art that flourished in the Low Countries during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. Precise details of his birth, death, and training are not firmly established in the historical record, but his surviving prints reflect the skilled craftsmanship and commercial acuity that characterized...