Egyptien à l'entrée de sa demeure (Egyptian at the entrance to his dwelling), from "L'Art"

Egyptien à l'entrée de sa demeure (Egyptian at the entrance to his dwelling), from "L'Art"

Edmond Ramus

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Almost twenty years after Alma-Tadema painted the subject of the Egyptian in a Doorway (2017.202.1), this print appeared in the French journal L’Art, a periodical that specialized in high-quality etched reproductions. The artist launched his international career with paintings of ancient Egyptian scenes, winning a gold medal at his Paris Salon debut in 1864 for Pastimes in Ancient Egypt. Alma-Tadema produced Egyptian in a Doorway as part of his first commission from a dealer, Ernest Gambart, who found a ready market for the artist’s work in England. Ramus’s etching is a testament to Alma-Tadema’s enduring reputation in France in the 1880s.

Drawings and Prints

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Egyptien à l'entrée de sa demeure (Egyptian at the entrance to his dwelling), from "L'Art"Egyptien à l'entrée de sa demeure (Egyptian at the entrance to his dwelling), from "L'Art"Egyptien à l'entrée de sa demeure (Egyptian at the entrance to his dwelling), from "L'Art"Egyptien à l'entrée de sa demeure (Egyptian at the entrance to his dwelling), from "L'Art"Egyptien à l'entrée de sa demeure (Egyptian at the entrance to his dwelling), from "L'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.