A fan with a rebus on Love on one side Fortune on the other
Stefano della Bella
An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art
Text on one side relating to Fortune: Fortuna e dormi If you’re lucky, you sleep Ogni [unghie] uno balla a cui la [Aquila] Fortuna suona Everyone dances for whom Fortune plays Chi ha la [ala] Fortuna ogni [unghie] tantin [ta tino] di chiave, basti For him who has luck, any little turn of the key is enough. Ognuno [unghie] sa navicar [navi car] quando fa sol [do, fa, sol] e vento Everyone knows how to sail when there is sun and wind Migliore [miglio re] è un’oncia di fortuna che due libbre di sapere [sa pere] Better an ounce of luck than two pounds of wisdom Più fortuna che seno [senno] More luck than sense. Text on other side relating to Love Ove [uove] è Amore è fedeltà Where there is love, there is fidelity Amor solicito [soli cito] è segreto [sega reto] Solicitous Love is secret Dove [D uove] è Amore è gelosia Wherever there is Love, there is jealousy Amore è cieco e vede di lontano Love is blind and sees from afar Amore passa il guanto e l’acqua li stivali Love passes the glove and water passes the boots Amor Amore [amo re], tu sei la mia rovina Love, you are my ruin.
Drawings and Prints
An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art
The Department’s vast collection of works on paper comprises approximately 21,000 drawings, 1.2 million prints, and 12,000 illustrated books created in Europe and the Americas from about 1400 to the present day. Since its foundation in 1916, the Department has been committed to collecting a wide range of works on paper, which includes both pieces that are incredibly rare and lauded for their aesthetic appeal, as well as material that is more popular, functional, and ephemeral. The broad scope of the department’s collecting encourages questions of connoisseurship as well as those pertaining to function and context, and demonstrates the vital role that prints, drawings, and illustrated books have played throughout history.