Migratory Birds on a Moonlit Night

Migratory Birds on a Moonlit Night

Theodorus van Hoytema

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Van Hoytema was one of the important graphic designers in Holland during the late nineteenth-early twentieth century. He was best known for his images of the natural world, in particular birds. His popularity was principally due to his children’s books – the Met has one of these in the collection (1970.685.3) - and his calendars. The present lithograph was produced as the calendar page for the month of November in his calendar for 1907. The Met also has an impression of the calendar page (2017.258).

Drawings and Prints

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Migratory Birds on a Moonlit NightMigratory Birds on a Moonlit NightMigratory Birds on a Moonlit NightMigratory Birds on a Moonlit NightMigratory Birds on a Moonlit Night

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.