Nymph Playing a Horn (recto); Bracket with a Man's Head (verso)

Nymph Playing a Horn (recto); Bracket with a Man's Head (verso)

Anonymous, German, 16th century

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Design for a horizontal, rectangular panel decorated with foliage. In the middle an androgynous figure whose lower body consists of acanthus leaves is depicted playing a long, straight horn. On the verso a design for a highly decorated bracket has been made. The basic structure of the bracket is typical for the late renaissance style, but the bracket is covered by organic, rocaille-like ornaments. Characteristic is the buste of an almost bold man looking upwards, which is placed right below the top of the bracket. On the lower left, this head is repeated in red chalk (possibly in a different, later hand).

Drawings and Prints

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Nymph Playing a Horn (recto); Bracket with a Man's Head (verso)Nymph Playing a Horn (recto); Bracket with a Man's Head (verso)Nymph Playing a Horn (recto); Bracket with a Man's Head (verso)Nymph Playing a Horn (recto); Bracket with a Man's Head (verso)Nymph Playing a Horn (recto); Bracket with a Man's Head (verso)

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.