Tomb Effigies: A Man in a Suit of Armor beside a Child

Tomb Effigies: A Man in a Suit of Armor beside a Child

Eugène Delacroix

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Printed sources provided Delacroix with references and perspectives difficult to obtain in person. Such was the case with images of tomb effigies, an important resource for the study of historical armor. Although the artist sketched tombs based on first-hand observation, the direct overhead view in this example suggests that he drew from book illustrations or prints.

Drawings and Prints

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Tomb Effigies: A Man in a Suit of Armor beside a ChildTomb Effigies: A Man in a Suit of Armor beside a ChildTomb Effigies: A Man in a Suit of Armor beside a ChildTomb Effigies: A Man in a Suit of Armor beside a ChildTomb Effigies: A Man in a Suit of Armor beside a Child

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.