Scene with Misericordia and Veritas in a Circle at Center

Scene with Misericordia and Veritas in a Circle at Center

Theodor de Bry

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

In a circle at center, a scene with misericordia (mercy) and veritas (truth) personified as female figures. In the forefront at left, a seated nude female figure with an open book places her right leg on a globe. At right, another figure feeds the children that surround her. Behind, two winged figures embrace, while the one at right holds a set of scales. Around the central circles, a band with rosettes. In the corners, ornamental blackwork with putti heads.

Drawings and Prints

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Scene with Misericordia and Veritas in a Circle at CenterScene with Misericordia and Veritas in a Circle at CenterScene with Misericordia and Veritas in a Circle at CenterScene with Misericordia and Veritas in a Circle at CenterScene with Misericordia and Veritas in a Circle at Center

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.