Sketches of a Woman in a Corseted Gown, a Castle, and a Horse's Head

Sketches of a Woman in a Corseted Gown, a Castle, and a Horse's Head

Anonymous, French, 18th century

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Graphite sketches of a woman in a corseted gown, a castle, a horse's head, and a ribbon (?) with a zigzag pattern. On the left is a sketch of a full-length woman facing left. She is wearing a corseted gown and large bonnet-style hat. To the right is a small circle with castle or cityscape set against a dark gouach background. To the right is a study of a horse's head, which has been scribbled over in graphite. Below is a small sketch of a ribbon (?) with a zigzag pattern, possibly of a belt or garment trimming.

Drawings and Prints

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Sketches of a Woman in a Corseted Gown, a Castle, and a Horse's HeadSketches of a Woman in a Corseted Gown, a Castle, and a Horse's HeadSketches of a Woman in a Corseted Gown, a Castle, and a Horse's HeadSketches of a Woman in a Corseted Gown, a Castle, and a Horse's HeadSketches of a Woman in a Corseted Gown, a Castle, and a Horse's Head

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.