Design for a Canopy Bed in an Alcove

Design for a Canopy Bed in an Alcove

Anonymous, French, 18th century

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

This drawing shows a design for a large canopy bed, placed in a neoclassical alcove. This type of design is often seen in palaces where an official ‘coucher’ and ‘lever’ ceremony (retiring to and rising from bed) was in custom. A select group of prominent people would be invited to observe and sometimes assist during this honorary occasion. The sumptuous draperies of the bed and niches played an important role in the ceremony as they allowed for the alcove to be completely closed off and therefore marked the transfer from public to private and vice versa. It is unknown for whom this stately bedroom was originally designed, but the nude sleeping figures in the friezes and the cupids adorning the bed introduce a slightly erotic theme which indicates that it may have been intended for a newly wedded couple. In the past, the design has been tentatively attributed to various well-known French architects and designers, such as Victor Louis (1731-1800), François-Joseph Bélanger (1744-1818) and Louis Gustave Taraval (1738-1794).

Drawings and Prints

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Design for a Canopy Bed in an AlcoveDesign for a Canopy Bed in an AlcoveDesign for a Canopy Bed in an AlcoveDesign for a Canopy Bed in an AlcoveDesign for a Canopy Bed in an Alcove

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.