Joshua, with the Sun at Upper Left

Joshua, with the Sun at Upper Left

Hippolyte Flandrin

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

With this oil sketch, Flandrin prepared his design for the figure of Joshua, one of the heroes of the Old Testament that he painted in the nave of the Church of Saint-Germain-des-Près in Paris. The interior redecoration of the old abbey was one of the most ambitious religious decorative programs completed in France in the nineteenth century. Here, Joshua points to the sun, which he commands to stand still to ensure Israel's victory over the Amorites (Joshua 10:12). The study reveals Flandrin's considerable gifts as a colorist with the green silk tunic contrasting against the scarlet cloak.

Drawings and Prints

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Joshua, with the Sun at Upper LeftJoshua, with the Sun at Upper LeftJoshua, with the Sun at Upper LeftJoshua, with the Sun at Upper LeftJoshua, with the Sun at Upper Left

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.