The Vision of Saint Eustace

The Vision of Saint Eustace

Federico Zuccaro (Zuccari)

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Created while Federico was still under the tutelage of his elder brother Taddeo (1529-1566), this drawing was the model for one of the frescoes that decorated the façade of a house in the Piazza San Eustachio in Rome. Federico's draftsmanship, while less spirited than that of his brother, is admirable for a firmness, clarity, and refined naturalism that were well suited to the Counter-Reformation goal of presenting religious subjects in a direct and accessible manner. The Roman general is depicted at the moment when, during a hunting expedition, he sees the crucified Christ between the horns of a stag and is converted.

Drawings and Prints

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

The Vision of Saint EustaceThe Vision of Saint EustaceThe Vision of Saint EustaceThe Vision of Saint EustaceThe Vision of Saint Eustace

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.