
Prince Joseph Anthony Poniatowski, Marshal of France
An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art
The lateral break, darkened by the shellac used to adhere it to a glass backing, does not diminish the force or freshness of this slightly asymmetrical portrait of the valorous Polish prince Józef Antoni Poniatowski (1763–1813), a commander in Napoleon’s army who was named marshal of France just before he died protecting the army’s retreat after the Battle of Leipzig.
European Sculpture and Decorative Arts
An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art
The fifty thousand objects in the Museum's comprehensive and historically important collection of European sculpture and decorative arts reflect the development of a number of art forms in Western European countries from the early fifteenth through the early twentieth century. The holdings include sculpture in many sizes and media, woodwork and furniture, ceramics and glass, metalwork and jewelry, horological and mathematical instruments, and tapestries and textiles. Ceramics made in Asia for export to European markets and sculpture and decorative arts produced in Latin America during this period are also included among these works.