Portrait of a man in profile

Portrait of a man in profile

Cornelius Varley

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Before photography was invented, artists often used optical tools for assistance. Cornelius Varley, who was a skilled draftsman, watercolorist, and instrument maker, tried the Camera Lucida when it was invented in 1806 but found it wanting. By 1811 he had invented and patented a superior device called the Graphic Telescope. Containing adjustable lenses and mirrors, it does indeed resemble a telescope, but the user looks down into it, keeping both eyes open to see two superimposed images. The subject being studied can thus be compared to a drawing resting below. The instrument proved invaluable as an aid to place objects correctly within a receding landscape, capture intricate nautical rigging, or record a sitter’s features. In this striking portrait of an unknown man Varley used the invention to draw the essential features. He then set the instrument aside and added passages of rubbed chalk to convey volume and project a determined character.

Drawings and Prints

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

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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.