
Henri Lehmann
Jean Auguste Dominique Ingres
An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art
Late in his career, Ingres restricted his portrait production to commissions from only the most elite members of French society. However, he made exceptions for his friends and most intimate associates. Here, he portrayed one of his favorite students, Henri Lehmann, seated in a posture of relaxed confidence.
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.