The Seat of Saturn; Saturn at center, seated on a throne of rubble, conversing with a king and three men who stand before him; lining the walls on each side are four figures of Saturn devouring children; set design from 'La Monarchia Latina Trionfante'

The Seat of Saturn; Saturn at center, seated on a throne of rubble, conversing with a king and three men who stand before him; lining the walls on each side are four figures of Saturn devouring children; set design from 'La Monarchia Latina Trionfante'

Mathäus Küsel

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

One of a series of plates depicting the theatrical sets for the opera 'La Monarchia Latina Trionfante', designed by Ludovico Burnacini with a libretto by Nicolò Minato, music by Antonio Draghi, and the ballet by Johann Heinrich Schmeizer. Produced in Vienna in 1678, the opera commemorates the birth of Archduke Joseph, son of Emperor Leopold I and his third wife, Eleonora Magdalena.

Drawings and Prints

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

The Seat of Saturn; Saturn at center, seated on a throne of rubble, conversing with a king and three men who stand before him; lining the walls on each side are four figures of Saturn devouring children; set design from 'La Monarchia Latina Trionfante'The Seat of Saturn; Saturn at center, seated on a throne of rubble, conversing with a king and three men who stand before him; lining the walls on each side are four figures of Saturn devouring children; set design from 'La Monarchia Latina Trionfante'The Seat of Saturn; Saturn at center, seated on a throne of rubble, conversing with a king and three men who stand before him; lining the walls on each side are four figures of Saturn devouring children; set design from 'La Monarchia Latina Trionfante'The Seat of Saturn; Saturn at center, seated on a throne of rubble, conversing with a king and three men who stand before him; lining the walls on each side are four figures of Saturn devouring children; set design from 'La Monarchia Latina Trionfante'The Seat of Saturn; Saturn at center, seated on a throne of rubble, conversing with a king and three men who stand before him; lining the walls on each side are four figures of Saturn devouring children; set design from 'La Monarchia Latina Trionfante'

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.