Opera Nova Universali intitulata Corona di racammi, page 24 (verso) 1530

This is page 24 from ‘Opera Nova Universali intitulata Corona di racammi’, a book of embroidery patterns printed in Venice by Giovanni Andrea Vavassore in the mid-16th century. Books like this reveal the increasing commercialization of art. Rather than relying on individual invention, needleworkers could now mass-produced patterns; this speaks to a wider culture of print and the growth of a market for luxury goods. The patterns themselves, with their stylized flowers and geometric borders, reflect the influence of classical design, which was very fashionable in Italy at the time. What does it mean to see needlework elevated to the status of high art? Was the professionalization of embroidery empowering for women, or did it simply reinforce existing social hierarchies? Answering questions like these demands that we look beyond the image itself, to the social and economic conditions that made it possible. By studying archival documents, we can begin to understand the complex relationship between art, commerce, and social change in Renaissance Italy.