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The Metropolitan Museum of Art

14,994 works

Etching of an imagined Roman forum with colonnades, loggias, fountains, horse statues and figures walking on the paved square

Ancient Roman forum surrounded by porticoes, with loggias, some of which communicate with the Imperial Palace and oth…

Giovanni Battista Piranesi, ca. 1750

Pencil design drawing of a rococo ceiling with an oval central panel framed by scrolls, foliage and floral ornament.

Design for Ceiling

Leonardo Marini, 18th century

Pen and ink design drawing of a paneled interior wall with a door and rococo scrolled ornament above.

Design for Door

Leonardo Marini, 18th century

Pencil drawing of a coffered ceiling with hexagonal rosette panels, rococo scrollwork and an oval cartouche.

Ceiling Design

Leonardo Marini, 18th century

Watercolour of a pale shingle beach with figures and driftwood, a boat, and white chalk cliffs under a grey sky.

Culver Cliff, Isle of Wight

William Dyce, 1847

Watercolor of figures and sailing boats on a beach beneath a dark storm cloud, with dunes and cottages at left.

Figures on a beach in northern France

Thomas Shotter Boys, 1830

Etching of an ancient altar with carved reliefs, surrounded by ruined columns, skulls and overgrown plants.

Ancient Altar on which sacrifices were performed in antiquity, surrounded by other ruins (Ara antica sopra la quale s…

Giovanni Battista Piranesi, ca. 1750

Etching of a royal courtyard with a central colonnaded loggia, fountains, statues, and small figures on steps.

View of a courtyard with a loggia, fountains, statues, and other ornaments (Prospetto d'un regio Cortile nel cui mezz…

Giovanni Battista Piranesi, ca. 1750

Etching of a grand stepped interior with rows of columns, arches, fountains and small figures, by Piranesi.

Stairways adorned by magnificient architecture... (Gruppo di Scale ornato di magnifica Architettura...), from "Prima…

Giovanni Battista Piranesi, ca. 1750

Etching of an imagined ancient Roman piazza with obelisk, columns, statues, a round temple and steps.

The ancient Capitol ascended by approximately one hundred steps... (Campidoglio antico a cui si ascendeva per circa c…

Giovanni Battista Piranesi, ca. 1750

Etching of an imaginary Roman bridge with loggias and arches, framed by a large arch, with boats on water.

Magnificent bridge with loggias, and arches erected by a Roman Emperor... (Ponte magnfiico con Logge, ed Archi errett…

Giovanni Battista Piranesi, ca. 1750

Etching of a colonnaded Roman-style hall with Corinthian columns, statues in niches, and small figures on steps.

Colonnaded hall according to the custom of the ancient Romans, and niches adorned with statues (Sala all'uso degli an…

Giovanni Battista Piranesi, ca. 1750

Pen and ink drawing of halved ceiling design with coffered vaults, rococo scrollwork, and diamond lattice patterns.

Halved Alternate Designs for a Ceiling Painting

Leonardo Marini, 1700-1780

Engraving of Hamlet restrained by two men as a glowing armored ghost points at them from a misty background.

Hamlet, Horatio, Marcellus and the Ghost (Shakespeare, Hamlet, Act 1, Scene 4)

Robert Thew, first published 1796; reissued 1852

Engraving of Orlando offering his hand to Rosalind, who holds a chain, with Celia and courtiers before classical columns.

Before the Duke's Palace-Rosalind, Celia, Orlando, the Duke & Attendants (Shakespeare, As You Like It, Act 1, Scene 2)

William Satchwell Leney, first published 1800; reissued 1852

Engraving of Prospero and Miranda beside Caliban reaching toward the flying spirit Ariel in a rocky cave, from Shakespeare's

The Enchanted Island Before the Cell of Prospero - Prospero, Miranda, Caliban and Ariel (Shakespeare, The Tempest, Ac…

Peter Simon, first published 1797; reissued 1852

Engraving of Malvolio in yellow stockings before Olivia and Maria in a richly furnished room, with onlookers and a monkey.

Olivia's House - Olivia, Maria and Malvolio (Shakespeare, Twelfth Night, Act 3, Scene 4)

Thomas Ryder, first published 1794; reissued 1852

Engraved design of a classical chimneypiece with winged griffons on the lintel, candelabra on the sides, and a flame in the f

Chimneypiece: Affronted griffons on the lintel and candelabra on the jambs (Ch. accompagnée de son plan et décorée d'…

Giovanni Battista Piranesi, ca. 1769

Engraved classical chimneypiece with winged Victories on the frieze, cornucopia jambs, and an ornate fire grate.

Chimneypiece: Frieze of trophies and winged Victories on the lintel, with cornucopias to either side of the jambs dec…

Giovanni Battista Piranesi, ca. 1769

Etched design of an Egyptian-style chimneypiece with mummies, caryatids, hieroglyphs and a central flaming fireplace.

Chimneypiece in the Egyptian style: Two mummies in profile on the left and two figures brearing obelisks on the right…

Giovanni Battista Piranesi, ca. 1769

Engraved Egyptian-style chimneypiece by Piranesi, with caryatids, sphinxes, hieroglyphs and stepped pyramid motifs around the

Chimneypiece in the Egyptian style: Groups of three female nudes at the base of each jamb, surmounted by larger kneel…

Giovanni Battista Piranesi, ca. 1769

Engraved neoclassical chimneypiece design with Greek key border and circular zodiac fireback showing a chariot.

Chimneypiece: Architrave decorated with a Greek key motif and a circular fireback with figures of the zodiac (Ch. déc…

Giovanni Battista Piranesi, ca. 1769

Pen and brown ink drawing of a bearded man in a cloak writing in a book at a table beside an inkwell.

Saint Paul

Guercino, 1591-1666

Grey wash drawing of women in flowing dress gathering around an infant beneath a tree, one holding a parasol.

The Finding of Moses

Anton Kern, 1725-47

Ink and wash drawing of a peasant couple on a country road beside large trees, with a cart and church spire in the distance.

Peasant Couple in an Extensive Landscape

Johannes Goedaert, 17th century

Pencil drawing of an anchored naval fleet in a calm bay with a crowded rowing boat in the foreground under cloudy skies.

The English Fleet Anchored at the Town of Beykoz, North of Istanbul

Anton Melbye, 1853

Pencil drawing of the Holy Family resting under a palm tree, with fruit, a ewer and a donkey in the foreground.

Rest During the Flight into Egypt

Philipp Veit, 1800-1877

Grey wash architectural fantasy of a ruined classical pediment with urns, a fountain, a reclining figure and a wolf with twin

Architectural Fantasy

Johann Ferdinand von Hohenberg, mid-18th-early 19th century

Pen and wash drawing of Christ riding a donkey as a crowd waves palm branches and children reach toward him.

Christ's Entry into Jerusalem

Hans Stutte, 1611

Engraving of a stout seated man with a cane at a table with companions, a standing youth and woman at right, dogs and armor.

The Seven Ages, Fifth Age: The Justice (Shakespeare, As You Like It, Act 2, Scene 7)

Peter Simon, first published 1801; reissued 1852