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Object Timeline

1980

  • We acquired this object.

1991

2015

2021

2022

2024

  • You found it!

Drawing, Ornament Design, Shield and Roman Standards

This is a Drawing. It was created by Michel Angelo Pergolesi. It is dated 1776 and we acquired it in 1980. Its medium is pen and ink, brush and watercolor over graphite on laid paper. It is a part of the Drawings, Prints, and Graphic Design department.

Pergolesi’s astonishing technical skill as a watercolor artist is showcased in this vibrant selection of his ornament designs. First, he worked out each composition and the strategy for how it would be colored on a separate piece of paper. (A few examples of such preparatory drawings are on view across the gallery.) Then, using a fresh sheet, he drew the contours of his designs in faint graphite, over which he painstakingly applied watercolors with a thin, dry brush. The combination of Pergolesi’s remarkable technical proficiency and his lighthearted sensibility results in charming works that are simultaneously rooted in the past and brimming with life.

It is credited Gift of Unknown Donor.

Its dimensions are

47.7 x 34 cm (18 3/4 x 13 3/8 in.) Mount(cm): 70 x 50.5 Mat: 71.1 x 55.9 cm (28 x 22 in.)

It is inscribed

Insribed in brush and light brown watercolor at lower center: Pergolesi. 1776. Del. et Pinx. Inscribed in brush and black wash at upper right corner: 22

Cite this object as

Drawing, Ornament Design, Shield and Roman Standards; Michel Angelo Pergolesi (Italian, active ca. 1760–1801); Italy; pen and ink, brush and watercolor over graphite on laid paper; 47.7 x 34 cm (18 3/4 x 13 3/8 in.) Mount(cm): 70 x 50.5 Mat: 71.1 x 55.9 cm (28 x 22 in.); Gift of Unknown Donor; 1980-32-1432

This object was previously on display as a part of the exhibitions Mr. Pergolesi's Curious Things and The Cooper-Hewitt Collections: A Design Resource.

This image is in the public domain (free of copyright restrictions). You can copy, modify, and distribute this work without contacting the Smithsonian. For more information, visit the Smithsonian’s Terms of Use page.

If you would like to cite this object in a Wikipedia article please use the following template:

<ref name=CH>{{cite web |url=https://collection.cooperhewitt.org/objects/18506139/ |title=Drawing, Ornament Design, Shield and Roman Standards |author=Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum |accessdate=23 April 2024 |publisher=Smithsonian Institution}}</ref>