Classical Battle Scene; Verso: Peter and John Heal a Cripple at the Gate of the Temple

Classical Battle Scene; Verso: Peter and John Heal a Cripple at the Gate of the Temple

Bartholomeus Spranger

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Painter, draftsman, printmaker, and sculptor, Bartholomeus Spranger was one of the most important artists at the court of Rudolf II in Prague. He is best known for the unification of Netherlandish and Italian–especially Roman Mannerist–influences in his art. Born into a wealthy Antwerp merchant family, Spranger began studying Italian art in Antwerp via engravings after Parmigianino. After a brief period spent working in Paris, he traveled to Italy, arriving in Rome in 1566. There, Spranger painted landscapes and also assisted Federico Zuccaro at the Villa Farnese in Caprarola. Pope Pius V became his primary patron and appointed him a papal painter in 1570. The drawing seen here, sketched in a rapid and free manner, illustrates the New Testament story of Peter and John healing a lame man at the entrance to the Temple (Acts 3:1–10). On the other side of this sheet, Spranger drew a classically inspired battle scene.

Drawings and Prints

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Classical Battle Scene; Verso: Peter and John Heal a Cripple at the Gate of the TempleClassical Battle Scene; Verso: Peter and John Heal a Cripple at the Gate of the TempleClassical Battle Scene; Verso: Peter and John Heal a Cripple at the Gate of the TempleClassical Battle Scene; Verso: Peter and John Heal a Cripple at the Gate of the TempleClassical Battle Scene; Verso: Peter and John Heal a Cripple at the Gate of the Temple

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.