Théâtre Italien

Eugène Delacroix

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Published in the new liberal daily "Le Miroir," this satirical lithograph holds up the Théâtre Italien in Paris, embodied here by the composer Gioacchino Rossini, as an admirable exemplar of the modern. His pockets stuffed with scores, Rossini adopts a stable, wide-legged stance as he balances his three best-known characters: Figaro, Rosina, and Othello. The commentary that accompanied the print poked fun at Delacroix for publishing it anonymously, while complimenting his drawing as one of "uncommon boldness" that was "biting and witty."

Drawings and Prints

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

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.

Metropolitan Museum of Art