A woman kneeling before an old man; page 55 from the "Images of Spain" Album (F)

A woman kneeling before an old man; page 55 from the "Images of Spain" Album (F)

Goya (Francisco de Goya y Lucientes)

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

A number of Goya’s drawings are "conversation pieces" showing men and women of different ages informally interacting. The theme compares to those of popular comedies of the period revolving around sentimental conflicts. This drawing brilliantly demonstrates Goya’s elegant technique, seamlessly blending layers of wash from different inks. Rapid and loose brushwork defines the overall room, while more precise lines render some of its details. The execution of the lattice window that lights the room and the adjacent curtain that obscures it epitomizes the artistic economy with which Goya could evoke a dense space and a dark mood.

Drawings and Prints

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

A woman kneeling before an old man; page 55 from the "Images of Spain" Album (F)A woman kneeling before an old man; page 55 from the "Images of Spain" Album (F)A woman kneeling before an old man; page 55 from the "Images of Spain" Album (F)A woman kneeling before an old man; page 55 from the "Images of Spain" Album (F)A woman kneeling before an old man; page 55 from the "Images of Spain" Album (F)

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.