View of a Palace Garden with a Central Pond Surrounded by Classical Architecture (Tapestry or Stage Design?)

View of a Palace Garden with a Central Pond Surrounded by Classical Architecture (Tapestry or Stage Design?)

Daniel Marot the Elder

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Design for a so-called garden theater dominated by classical architecture in the foreground. The end of two arcades and two bent trees form the coulisses to a view of garden with a large pond. Several people are depicted sitting by the water or even fishing. A group of five has ventured out on the water in a small boat. In the background two rows of trees lead the eye towards a small building characterized by niches with statues. Colored washes in grey, green and red tints have been added to enliven the scene.

Drawings and Prints

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

View of a Palace Garden with a Central Pond Surrounded by Classical Architecture (Tapestry or Stage Design?)View of a Palace Garden with a Central Pond Surrounded by Classical Architecture (Tapestry or Stage Design?)View of a Palace Garden with a Central Pond Surrounded by Classical Architecture (Tapestry or Stage Design?)View of a Palace Garden with a Central Pond Surrounded by Classical Architecture (Tapestry or Stage Design?)View of a Palace Garden with a Central Pond Surrounded by Classical Architecture (Tapestry or Stage Design?)

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.