Study of a Tree; verso: Study of Houses

Ernst Ferdinand Oehme

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

A leading artist of his generation, Oehme here depicts a mighty oak, a tree long associated with German national identity and especially embraced by artists of the Romantic period. As indicated in the inscription, this detailed study of the weathered bark and exposed roots was made from life on October 3, 1832. By focusing on the monumental trunk instead of its towering crown, Oehme created an image of quiet force.

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