Man Born to Toil, from The Reward of Labour and Diligence, plate 1

Man Born to Toil, from The Reward of Labour and Diligence, plate 1

Philips Galle

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

A baby representing mankind suckles at one of Natura’s seven breasts. Suspended in her vicinity is a giant sphere to which are stuck all manner of tools, as if magnetized. In medieval schools of thought, work involving the manipulation of matter, including the production of "artificial forms"—in other words, art—had not enjoyed the same status as pursuits such as philosophy and theology. This image attests to the newfound prestige accorded to the professional class in Europe, who over the course of the sixteenth century successfully argued for the value of labor and the virtues of work in support of a meaningful existence.

Drawings and Prints

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Man Born to Toil, from The Reward of Labour and Diligence, plate 1Man Born to Toil, from The Reward of Labour and Diligence, plate 1Man Born to Toil, from The Reward of Labour and Diligence, plate 1Man Born to Toil, from The Reward of Labour and Diligence, plate 1Man Born to Toil, from The Reward of Labour and Diligence, plate 1

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.