Diverses Pieces de Serruriers

Jean Berain

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Bound copy of the second edition of this print series consisting of a title page, dedication, portrait of Hugues Brisville and 14 engravings of lock and wrought-iron designs engraved by Jean I Berain and Gabriel Ladame. The prints were first published by Brisville himself in 1662, but soon republished by the publisher Francois Langlois, who most likely ordered the portrait of Brisville to be included in the series. The designs were engraved by Jean Berain and Gabriel Ladame. They are all strong impressions of Brisvilles designs for lockplates and other works in wrought iron.

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.

Metropolitan Museum of Art