Architectural Capriccio with a Palace seen through a Triumphal Arch

Louis Joseph Le Lorrain

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

This drawing is one of two architectural capriccios by Le Lorrain, which show ideal city views with classical architecture. This design shows a view of a square with a palace, as seen through a triumphal arch. Small figures have been added as staffage and to convey scale. Le Lorrain was one of the protagonists in the movement that pressed for a return to classical models during the second and third quarter of the eighteenth century. Inspired by his time in Rome, Le Lorrain became known for his architectural capriccios, which sometimes served as theater and festival decors. So far, none of these characteristic capriccios had been acquired for the collection.

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.

Metropolitan Museum of Art