Valentine
ca. 1880
Medium
Cameo-embossed open-work lace paper, chromolithography, die-cut scrap, gilded paper edging
Dimensions
Width: 7 5/16 in. (18.6 cm) Length: 5 1/4 in. (13.4 cm)
Classification
Ephemera|Drawings|Ornament & Architecture
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Gift of Mrs. Richard Riddell, 1981
Accession Number
1981.1136.656
Art Historical Context
This delicate Valentine card, created around 1880 by an artist, exemplifies the ornate ephemera of the Victorian era. Measuring just 7 5/16 by 5 1/4 inches, it was designed as a romantic token, likely exchanged on February 14th during the height of Valentine's Day popularity in Europe and America. Housed in the Metropolitan Museum of Art's and Prints department, it entered the collection as a gift from Mrs. Richard Riddell in 1981. Crafted with sophisticated techniques, the card features cameo-embossed open-work lace paper, mimicking fine lace through raised relief and intricate cutouts for a...
About the Artist
Anonymous
In the vast tapestry of art history, "Anonymous" stands not as a singular individual but as a collective designation for countless unidentified creators whose works have endured across millennia. These artists, spanning prehistoric cave painters to medieval illuminators and folk craftsmen, produced the foundational layers of human visual culture. Prior to the Renaissance, when individual fame emer...