Acanthus Leaves, Birds and Insects, no. CCCLXXII, plate 57 from "Designs for Various Ornaments"

Michelangelo Pergolesi

April 1, 1792 · Etching · Drawings and Prints

This design, numbered CCCLXXII, represents acanthus, birds and insects. The print comes from a group that Pergolesi made and published serially in London between 1777 and 1792. There is no title page, but a prospectus of ca. 1786 described the group as: "A great variety of original designs of vases, figures, medallions, friezes, pilasters, panels and other ornaments, in the Etruscan and grotesque style." The complete set contains 67 plates numbered 1-66 (two are numbered 56), with designs within the plates irregularly numbered 1-435 (in Roman numerals at first, then with Arabic numbers). In 1801, after Pergolesi's death, four additional plates of designs were published by a bookseller Dulouchamp (or Dulonchamp).

Artist

Michelangelo Pergolesi

Date

April 1, 1792

Medium

Etching

Department

Drawings and Prints

Credit line

Bequest of Herbert Mitchell, 2008