Head of Christ

Head of Christ

Carolus-Duran (Charles-Auguste-Emile Durant)

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Although he built his reputation as a society portraitist, Carolus Duran treated religious themes throughout his career. The date on this sheet suggests he made it during or immediately following his travels in Spain, where he often lodged in monasteries. The drawing seems to have served as a source for a crucifixion he painted for Notre-Dame de l’Assomption in Saint-Aygulf in 1894; it bears a close relationship to other studies made for that project.

Drawings and Prints

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

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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.