Two studies of a saddled horse and of a horse with a boy astride; verso: Study of a bean plant

Two studies of a saddled horse and of a horse with a boy astride; verso: Study of a bean plant

Jacques de Gheyn II

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Among the best Dutch engravers active in the circle of Hendrick Goltzius, Jacob de Gheyn II is also recognized as one of the great Dutch draftsmen of his time. This double-sided study sheet, which has only recently resurfaced, exemplifies the artist's careful and sensitive observation of nature, as well as his virtuoso drawing technique, which was rooted in his training as a printmaker. Studies of the same horse are found on two other drawings, one in Amsterdam (Stichtung P. en N. de Boer) and the other in Paris (École Nationale Supérieure des Beaux-Arts). The latter sheet also bears sketches related to a print dated 1603, which provides an approximate date for the Museum's drawing. The provenance of this sheet can be traced back to several of the most outstanding eighteenth-century Dutch collectors of drawings. One of them wrote the words "Keer Om" (Turn over) at the lower left to point to the study of a bean plant on the back, one of the rare examples of a watercolor by De Gheyn.

Drawings and Prints

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Two studies of a saddled horse and of a horse with a boy astride; verso: Study of a bean plantTwo studies of a saddled horse and of a horse with a boy astride; verso: Study of a bean plantTwo studies of a saddled horse and of a horse with a boy astride; verso: Study of a bean plantTwo studies of a saddled horse and of a horse with a boy astride; verso: Study of a bean plantTwo studies of a saddled horse and of a horse with a boy astride; verso: Study of a bean plant

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.