Needlework Picture, Erminia, by Unknown Maker

Dateca. 1790

MediumSilk threads on a silk ground, linen, watercolor, gilt, gesso, wood, glass

DimensionsFramed: OH: 14 3/4" x OW: 12 3/4"

Credit LineGift of Mr. and Mrs. Lawrence Tancredi

Object number2000-465,A&B

DescriptionThis is a framed silk needlework picture of a shepherdess seated beside a tree carving the name "TANCRED" in the tree trunk, using a tool that she holds in her right hand. In her left hand she holds either a staff or a scythe and two lambs lie at her feet. The picture is worked on a silk ground with silk embroidery floss in hues of brown, gold, green and blue. The head and arms of the shepherdess are executed in ink or watercolor and many areas of the sky in the picture are colored with watercolor. The needlework is framed in a black frame with two gilded borders.

Stitches: satin, split
Label TextIn this needlework picture from the end of the 18th century, Erminia, a character from Torquato Tasso's epic poem "Jerusalem Delivered," etches the name of her beloved, Tancredi, into a tree. This image is derived from a print by Angelica Kauffman in 1781, which became very popular amongst amateur needleworkers. Tasso's poem was a common source for works of art in all media at the end of the 18th century and beginning of the 19th, as it combined love, violence, and exotic lands.
InscribedNone
Markings"TANCRED"
ProvenanceNo provenance is known other than donor.