A Family Gathering on a Terrace

Anonymous, French, 18th century

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

This scene of an elegant family relaxing on a shady terrace may be a study for a family portrait, or simply a fête galante. One servant shields the family from the sun, while another carries a tray of food up the stairs. The composition is framed by decorative elements: a vase atop a pedestal on the left, and an ornate fountain on the right. The artist's confidence is evident in the varied and vigorous handling of the pen and ink.

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