General Louis-Étienne Dulong de Rosnay

Jean Auguste Dominique Ingres

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Ingres’s portrait of Dulong de Rosnay is exceptional in its detailed recording of the sitter’s dress and accessories—areas the artist usually treated in a summary manner. This specificity is appropriate, as Dulong de Rosnay’s identity and rank (a decorated general, he was later named Baron de l’Empire) are expressed through his attire. His military uniform and the medallions that emblazon his chest signal his valor and service to the empire of Napoleon I, while his sword and arm sling tell of the brave battles he fought and the wounds he endured.

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