Drawings and Prints: Selections from The Met Collection

Exhibition Website

Jul 19 2016 - Oct 24 2016

The Robert Wood Johnson, Jr. Gallery displays highlights of European and American prints, drawings, and illustrated books from the Museum's vast holdings of works on paper. Because of their sensitivity to light, these works cannot be on permanent exhibition; each installation remains on view for approximately 13 weeks. The rotations of the gallery consist of diverse pieces—new acquisitions as well as works that might not find their way into a major exhibition. They are selected to show the breadth and quality of the Museum's holdings, ranging from the Renaissance to the present.

Highlights from this rotation include a selection of drawings and prints centered on the theme of the allegory of America, anchored by Discovery of America: Vespucci Landing in America (ca. 1587-89) by the Netherlandish artist Stradanus; images of pairs, twins, and doublings in European works on paper from the 17th through the 19th century, including works by John Flaxman and Théodore Gericault; prints centered around a remarkable recently acquired landscape etching by Francisco Goya; a selection of prints from the portfolio Prints of the Mexican Revolution published in 1947; a selection devoted to printmaking in Genoa with a focus on a newly acquired etching by Bartolommeo Gazalis; drawings and prints that give an overview of the activity of Peter Candid, the Netherlandish-born 16th-century artist active in Florence and Munich, including a newly discovered double-sided study of Alexander the Great, which the Museum acquired in 2014 and is presented to the public for the first time in conjunction with the installation of a grand altarpiece by Candid in the European Paintings galleries (gallery 609); and images of art students and artists engaged in study from the 16th through the early 20th century.

Credit: Exhibition overview from museum website.

  • Works on Paper
  • International
  • Various artists

Exhibition Venues & Dates