Studies of Horses, Hands, and Feet (recto); Studies of Heads and Figures (verso)

Studies of Horses, Hands, and Feet (recto); Studies of Heads and Figures (verso)

Eugène Delacroix

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Delacroix’s teacher Guérin advocated for the study of nature over imitating the antique. This proved fundamental to the younger artist’s development. He later wrote, "It is generally acknowledged that what is known as creation in the great painters is only a special manner in which each of them saw, coordinated, and rendered nature." Delacroix’s general manner of "coordinating and rendering nature" was summary, a quality exemplified in this study sheet of horses, hands, and feet observed from multiple angles. With minimal strokes of the pen, he could convey the quality of something seen.

Drawings and Prints

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Studies of Horses, Hands, and Feet (recto); Studies of Heads and Figures (verso)Studies of Horses, Hands, and Feet (recto); Studies of Heads and Figures (verso)Studies of Horses, Hands, and Feet (recto); Studies of Heads and Figures (verso)Studies of Horses, Hands, and Feet (recto); Studies of Heads and Figures (verso)Studies of Horses, Hands, and Feet (recto); Studies of Heads and Figures (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.