A Cat Curled Up, Sleeping

A Cat Curled Up, Sleeping

Edouard Manet

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Manet shows a cat at rest, supremely unconcerned with any human presence. A masterly pencil line of varying thickness catches the distinctive feline profile of curled neck, ears and brows. Patches of hatching suggest tousled fur, and a few light strokes anchor the form in space.

Drawings and Prints

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

A Cat Curled Up, SleepingA Cat Curled Up, SleepingA Cat Curled Up, SleepingA Cat Curled Up, SleepingA Cat Curled Up, Sleeping

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.