The Rising Sun; Or, A View of the Continent

The Rising Sun; Or, A View of the Continent

Thomas Rowlandson

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Napoleon seated on thorns at center, surrounded by the Continental Powers. Russia is represented by a Bear asleep in a cradle. Spain and Portugal are rising on the sun in the background at left. Sweden raises a sabre behind Napoleon at left. Holland is asleep on a cask at center. Poland is a shadow in the background. Denmark is snuffed out under an extinguisher. The Austrian Emperor is advancing to attack. The Prussian King, with straw in his hair, is confined to a straightjacket at right.

Drawings and Prints

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

The Rising Sun; Or, A View of the ContinentThe Rising Sun; Or, A View of the ContinentThe Rising Sun; Or, A View of the ContinentThe Rising Sun; Or, A View of the ContinentThe Rising Sun; Or, A View of the Continent

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.