The Carnival of Venice, from: Thesaurus Antiquitatum et Historiarum Italiae, vol. IX

The Carnival of Venice, from: Thesaurus Antiquitatum et Historiarum Italiae, vol. IX

Pieter van der Aa

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Carnival is one of the best-known traditions of Venice. In this print from the Thesaurus of the Antiquity and History of Italy, the city’s famous Piazza San Marco is filled with people in masks and costumes. Various stalls and stages are set up where small crowds are being entertained. In the foreground, a parade makes its way across the square, led by mock-jousters, dancers, and musicians.

Drawings and Prints

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

The Carnival of Venice, from: Thesaurus Antiquitatum et Historiarum Italiae, vol. IXThe Carnival of Venice, from: Thesaurus Antiquitatum et Historiarum Italiae, vol. IXThe Carnival of Venice, from: Thesaurus Antiquitatum et Historiarum Italiae, vol. IXThe Carnival of Venice, from: Thesaurus Antiquitatum et Historiarum Italiae, vol. IXThe Carnival of Venice, from: Thesaurus Antiquitatum et Historiarum Italiae, vol. IX

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.