
The Double Humbug or the Devils Imp Praying for Peace
Thomas Rowlandson
An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art
Two scenes: At left, Napoleon addresses a room of senators and deputies. A devil sits on the back of his chair. At right, Napoleon, kneels in profile to the right before the Allies, presenting to them a collection of crowns, including the Pope's tiara, and a sheaf of flags.
Drawings and Prints
An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of 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.