English Lady in Winter Costume (The Winter habit of an English Gentlewoman)

English Lady in Winter Costume (The Winter habit of an English Gentlewoman)

Wenceslaus Hollar

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

A full length standing figure of a woman, wearing a dark hood tied under the chin and a black half mask. She also wears a fur stole and carries a fur muff on her left arm. A feather fan hangs from her right wrist. Although she stands outdoors in cold sufficient to require heavy furs, this woman has removed one hand from her muff. As her exposed fingers caress the long tail of her collar, her large eyes meet the viewer's own, and her full lips reveal the suggestion of smile. With these subtle signs, Hollar hinted at a sensuality concealed beneath the woman's rich garments and winter mask.

Drawings and Prints

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

English Lady in Winter Costume (The Winter habit of an English Gentlewoman)English Lady in Winter Costume (The Winter habit of an English Gentlewoman)English Lady in Winter Costume (The Winter habit of an English Gentlewoman)English Lady in Winter Costume (The Winter habit of an English Gentlewoman)English Lady in Winter Costume (The Winter habit of an English Gentlewoman)

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.