A gentleman walking forward, with his right arm outstretched and a whip in his left hand, wearing a plumed hat and decorated shoes, from "The Garden of the French Nobles In Which One Can Pick Up Their Way of Dressing"

A gentleman walking forward, with his right arm outstretched and a whip in his left hand, wearing a plumed hat and decorated shoes, from "The Garden of the French Nobles In Which One Can Pick Up Their Way of Dressing"

Abraham Bosse

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

A gentleman walking forward, with his right arm outstretched, and a whip on the left hand, wearing a jerkin with small dots and ribbons, and a large collar, knee breeches with small pompons on the sides and bordered with lace, worn with a wide-sleeved coat, stockings, and shoes decorated with lace puffs. A hat with a large bundle of feathers adorns the head.

Drawings and Prints

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

A gentleman walking forward, with his right arm outstretched and a whip in his left hand, wearing a plumed hat and decorated shoes, from "The Garden of the French Nobles In Which One Can Pick Up Their Way of Dressing"A gentleman walking forward, with his right arm outstretched and a whip in his left hand, wearing a plumed hat and decorated shoes, from "The Garden of the French Nobles In Which One Can Pick Up Their Way of Dressing"A gentleman walking forward, with his right arm outstretched and a whip in his left hand, wearing a plumed hat and decorated shoes, from "The Garden of the French Nobles In Which One Can Pick Up Their Way of Dressing"A gentleman walking forward, with his right arm outstretched and a whip in his left hand, wearing a plumed hat and decorated shoes, from "The Garden of the French Nobles In Which One Can Pick Up Their Way of Dressing"A gentleman walking forward, with his right arm outstretched and a whip in his left hand, wearing a plumed hat and decorated shoes, from "The Garden of the French Nobles In Which One Can Pick Up Their Way of Dressing"

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.