Composition from the "Tragedies of Aeschylus," plate 17 (recto); Goddess statue from "The Suppliants," plate 7 (verso)

Composition from the "Tragedies of Aeschylus," plate 17 (recto); Goddess statue from "The Suppliants," plate 7 (verso)

John Flaxman

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

This drawing is a copy, possibly traced, by an unknown artist after one of the famous series of prints that Flaxman designed to illustrate the "Tragedies of Aeschylus." The first edition was engraved by Thomas Piroli and published in London, 1795.

Drawings and Prints

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Composition from the "Tragedies of Aeschylus," plate 17 (recto); Goddess statue from "The Suppliants," plate 7 (verso)Composition from the "Tragedies of Aeschylus," plate 17 (recto); Goddess statue from "The Suppliants," plate 7 (verso)Composition from the "Tragedies of Aeschylus," plate 17 (recto); Goddess statue from "The Suppliants," plate 7 (verso)Composition from the "Tragedies of Aeschylus," plate 17 (recto); Goddess statue from "The Suppliants," plate 7 (verso)Composition from the "Tragedies of Aeschylus," plate 17 (recto); Goddess statue from "The Suppliants," plate 7 (verso)

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.