Object Timeline

1980

  • We acquired this object.

2015

2021

2022

2024

  • You found it!

Drawing, Ornament Design with Female Portrait Cameo

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

Mount: 71.8 × 50.8 cm (28 1/4 in. × 20 in.) Sheet: 48.3 × 34.3 cm (19 in. × 13 1/2 in.)

Cite this object as

Drawing, Ornament Design with Female Portrait Cameo; Michel Angelo Pergolesi (Italian, active ca. 1760–1801); pen and ink, brush and watercolor over graphite on laid paper; Mount: 71.8 × 50.8 cm (28 1/4 in. × 20 in.) Sheet: 48.3 × 34.3 cm (19 in. × 13 1/2 in.); Gift of Unknown Donor; 1980-32-1452

This object was previously on display as a part of the exhibition Mr. Pergolesi's Curious Things.

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

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