Studies for a Costume

Rosso Fiorentino

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Drawing with studies for a costume of classical Roman armory. In the center, a standing male figure, with his weight resting on the left foot, and his head turned to his right, wears the outfit of a Roman soldier, with an intricately decorated jacket, a helmet, and strap sandals. His right hand points towards the floor, while holding up the right hand, and pointing above with the index finger. Around him are five more heads, each adorned with a variation of the helmet, made up of different sorts of scrolling motifs, and decorated with feathers and beads.

Drawings and Prints

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

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.

Metropolitan Museum of Art