Goldsmith's Bouquet, from Newes Lauberbuechlein

Goldsmith's Bouquet, from Newes Lauberbuechlein

Peter Aubry II

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Decorative floral arrangement in the shape of the fleur-de-lis at center. In the background at left, a cityscape with a rider. At right, a gate topped with classical figures. From a set of seven plates by Peter Aubry II after 'Livre de Feuilles d'Orfevrerie,' designed by Gédéon Légaré and engraved by P. Lombart (SKB 813 [1] and Guilmard 51.58).

Drawings and Prints

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Goldsmith's Bouquet, from Newes LauberbuechleinGoldsmith's Bouquet, from Newes LauberbuechleinGoldsmith's Bouquet, from Newes LauberbuechleinGoldsmith's Bouquet, from Newes LauberbuechleinGoldsmith's Bouquet, from Newes Lauberbuechlein

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.