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The Metropolitan Museum of Art

33,937 works

Pen and brown ink drawing of an ornate crucifix with Christ, flanked by three figures at its base.

Design for a Crucifix with the Virgin Mary, Saint Mary Magdalen, and Saint John

Polidoro da Caravaggio, n.d.

Watercolor ceiling design with an oval sky panel edged in flowers and lavender ornamental scrollwork panels.

Ceiling Design for the "Petit Salon" of the Duchess of Newcastle, Hôtel Hope

Jules-Edmond-Charles Lachaise, ca. 1867

Watercolor design for a decorated ceiling with pink and gold borders, scrollwork, and an empty central panel.

Ceiling Design for Madame Hope's Bedroom

Jules-Edmond-Charles Lachaise, ca. 1867

Etching of the ruined circular Temple of the Sibyl at Tivoli with Corinthian columns above arched substructures and small fig

Altra V. del Tempio della Sibilla in Tivoli (Another view of the Temple of the Sibyl in Tivoli)

Giovanni Battista Piranesi, 18th century

Etching of the Basilica of San Sebastiano on the Appian Way, with an iron gate, arched portico, and travelers with horses.

View of the Basilica of San Sebastiano fuori delle mura [St. Sebastian ouside the Walls] on the Appian Way, from Vedu…

Giovanni Battista Piranesi, ca. 1750

Engraved plan of ancient Rome by Piranesi, with a central city map surrounded by stone fragments of ancient buildings.

Plan of Rome..., from "Le Antichità Romane" (Roman Antiquities)

Giovanni Battista Piranesi, ca. 1756

Etching of the round Temple of the Sibyl at Tivoli with Corinthian columns, overgrown ruins, figures and a bell tower.

View of the Temple of the Temple of the Sibyl at Tivoli, from Vedute di Roma (Roman Views)

Giovanni Battista Piranesi, ca. 1761

Etched interior of a vaulted temple with relief panels, a central altar, and small figures on the stone floor.

Interior view of the ancient Temple of Bacchus, now the church of S. Urbano, two miles from Rome..., from Vedute di R…

Giovanni Battista Piranesi, ca. 1750

Engraving of the Last Supper with Christ at a long table surrounded by apostles, a dog and ornate ewers in the foreground.

The Last Supper

Giorgio Ghisi, 1551

Engraving of a workshop where men ink and print copper plates at benches and presses, with prints hung to dry on the wall.

The Workshop of an Engraver [Sculptura in Aes], plate 19 from Nova Reperta

called Stradanus Jan van der Straet, ca. 1600

Watercolor drawing of a windmill beside a canal with a wooden bridge, farmhouse and small figures under a pale sky.

Landscape with Windmill

Anthonie Erkelens, late 18th century

Engraving of Achilles dragging Hector's body past Troy's walls on a chariot, with soldiers, mourners and a burning city behin

The combat of Hector and Achilles, and Achilles dragging the body of Hector around the walls of Troy

Giulio Bonasone, 1531-76

Woodcut of a skeleton grabbing a merchant clutching money bags, with ship masts and rigging behind them.

The Merchant, from "The Dance of Death"

Hans Holbein the Younger, ca. 1526, published 1538

Hand-colored print of a ragged man in a green coat reading shipping posters for New York by a harbor with masts.

Outward Bound (Dublin)

Erskine Nicol, ca. 1860

Hand-colored print of a man in straw hat beside a sign advertising emigrant sailings from New York to Dublin, with ships' mas

Homeward Bound (New York)

Erskine Nicol, ca. 1860

Etching of the Basilica of San Sebastiano facade on the Appian Way, with an iron gate, travelers, and an ancient arch.

View of the Basilica of San Sebastiano fuori delle mura [St. Sebastian outside the Walls] on the Appian Way, from Ved…

Giovanni Battista Piranesi, ca. 1750

Etching of the Acqua Felice fountain in Rome with lions, obelisks, inscribed tablet and small figures in the street.

View of the Fountainhead of the Acqua Felice...., from Vedute di Roma (Roman Views)

Giovanni Battista Piranesi, ca. 1751

Etching of a crumbling Roman brick portico with a pediment and arch, overgrown with plants, with small figures among ruins.

Remains of a covered portico, or a cryptoportiucus, in a villa of Domitian, five miles outside Rome on the Frascati r…

Giovanni Battista Piranesi, ca. 1766

Etching of the rear facade of Santa Maria Maggiore basilica in Rome, with domes, an obelisk, steps and figures.

View of the rear entrance of the Basilica of S. Maria Maggiore, from Veduta di Roma (Roman Views)

Giovanni Battista Piranesi, ca. 1742

Etching of Doric temple ruins at Paestum with tall columns, overgrown trees on top, a horse and figures in the foreground.

View showing the remains of a large enclosure of columns..., from Différentes vues de quelques Restes de trois grands…

Giovanni Battista Piranesi, ca. 1748

Etching of the Piazza di Monte Cavallo in Rome with a palace facade, two colossal horse-tamer statues, carriages, and crowds.

View of the Piazza di monte Cavallo, from Vedute di Roma (Roman Views)

Giovanni Battista Piranesi, ca. 1773

Etching of a busy Roman river port with masted boats, dockworkers, a tall palazzo facade and a cloudy sky.

View of the Port of Ripa Grande, from Vedute di Roma (Roman Views)

Giovanni Battista Piranesi, ca. 1753

Etching of St. Peter's Basilica and its piazza with an obelisk, colonnades, carriages and figures in the foreground.

View of St. Peter's Basilica and Piazza in the Vatican, from Vedute di Roma (Roman Views)

Giovanni Battista Piranesi, ca. 1748

Etching of the baroque facade of Santa Croce in Gerusalemme in Rome, with statues, a bell tower and small figures.

View of the Façade of the Basilica of S. Croce in Gerusalemme [the Holy Cross in Jerusalem], from Vedute di Roma (Rom…

Giovanni Battista Piranesi, ca. 1750

Grey wash drawing of a woman at a harpsichord with two flautists and a musician, under an allegorical cloud scene.

A Musical Gathering

Samuel Wale, 18th century

Etching of the Arch of Titus in Rome with a large tree, small figures, and ruined classical buildings in the street.

The Arch of Titus (Veduta dell'Arco di Tito)

Giovanni Battista Piranesi, ca. 1760

Etching of the Acqua Paola fountain facade with cascading water, figures, a cart, and a hill with trees behind.

View of the Fountainhead of the Acqua Paola on Monte Aureo, from Vedute di Roma (Roman Views)

Giovanni Battista Piranesi, ca. 1751

Etching of ruined arched grottoes and a fountain niche overgrown with trees, with small figures and a temple on a hill.

The so-called Grotto of Egeria (Veduta della fonte e delle spelonche d'Egeria fuor della Porta Capena)

Giovanni Battista Piranesi, ca. 1766

Etching of St. Peter's Basilica's large dome and exterior seen from a Roman street with figures and stacked columns.

View of the exterior of St. Peter's Basilica in the Vatican, from Vedute di Roma (Roman Views)

Giovanni Battista Piranesi, ca. 1748

Etching of the Barberini palace on the Quirinal Hill, with arched windows, a columned facade, and figures in the courtyard.

View of the palace of the illustrious Barberini family on the Quirinal Hill, designed by Cavaliere Bernini, from Vedu…

Giovanni Battista Piranesi, ca. 1750-1759

Handwritten page of brown ink room measurements titled Breakfast Parlour and Drawing Room, with dimensions for walls, windows

Measurements for a Breakfast Parlour and Drawing Room

James Oldham, ca. 1786

Drawing of a woman in a wide-brimmed hat seated at a café table by a window, with a second woman behind her.

Portrait of a Woman Seated at a Table

Will Houghton, ca. 1896

Engraving of a gnarled tree towering over a stone wall, with a robed hermit kneeling in prayer beside a cross at right.

Landscape with a Hermit Praying

Frederick Bloemaert, n.d.

Pencil design drawing of a classical funerary urn with a draped female figure holding a skull and the words Memento Mori.

Suggestions for Urns

L. V. Grave, 18th century

Pen and wash drawing of classical acanthus scrolls and a half-harpy figure in ornamental grotesque style.

Fragment of Ornamental Drawing after the Antique; Half-harpy with Acanthus Rinceaux

Andrés de Melgar, ca. 1545-60

Engraving of Christ crowned with thorns, struck by soldiers in an arched interior with onlookers and dogs on a tiled floor.

Christ Crowned with Thorns from The Passion

Israhel van Meckenem, n.d.

Pen and ink drawing over red chalk showing studies of a crucifixion with a reclining body and figures handling a cloth.

Studies for a Crucifixion

Alessandro Casolani, 16th century

Pen drawing of measured architectural cornice and entablature profiles with acanthus scrolls, arched panels, and annotations.

Architectural Study: The Measured Profiles of the Cornice and Entablature of the "Colonnacce" from the Forum Transito…

Sangallo family, 1500-20

Etching of a vaulted Roman ruin interior with receding arches, rubble, and small figures working in the foreground and an ope

The so-called Villa of Maecenas at Tivoli. Interior with two figures in the opening of an arch above. (Veduta interna…

Giovanni Battista Piranesi, ca. 1764

Etching of the pyramid of Gaius Cestius in Rome, surrounded by ruined walls, trees, and small figures at its base.

The Pyramid of Gaius Cestius, from Vedute di Roma (Roman Views)

Giovanni Battista Piranesi, ca. 1756

Etched street view of the Palazzo Odescalchi in Rome, with pedestrians, a carriage and a domed church in the distance.

View of the Palazzo Odeschali, from Vedute di Roma (Roman Views)

Giovanni Battista Piranesi, ca. 1753

Mezzotint of a crowded life drawing class with a nude male model posed before artists sketching at easels under a hanging lam

The Life Class of the Vienna Academy

Johann Jacobé, 1790

Hand-colored woodcut of Christ as the Man of Sorrows seated on a cross beam with Passion instruments below him.

Album with Twelve Engravings of The Passion, a Woodcut of Christ as the Man of Sorrows, and a Metalcut of St. Jerome…

Israhel van Meckenem, late 15th century

Design drawing of a hanging chandelier with a pink glass globe, scrolled candle arms, and a plan view below.

Design for a Glass Chandelier

Richardson Ellson & Co., ca. 1880

A fencing master (recto); sketch of a man's head (verso)

Robert Dighton, 1790-1814

Watercolor sketch of a standing coachman in white jacket, red breeches and tall black boots, holding a hat and whip.

A coachman (recto); ships and rowboats (verso)

Robert Dighton, 1790-1814

Watercolor of a long columned interior with draped windows, chandeliers, and a nursemaid with children on a blue carpet.

Interior, Leningrad?

Charles de Brocktorff, ca. 1825

Brown wash drawing of an ornate tall candelabrum with bird-head supports, clawed feet, and carved floral shaft.

Design for a Candelabrum

Edgar George Papworth Sr., ca. 1826-37

Etching of a Baroque palace facade on a Roman street with pedestrians and a carriage in the foreground.

View of the Palazzo della Consulta on the Quirinal housing the Papal Secreteriat, from Vedute di Roma (Roman Views)

Giovanni Battista Piranesi, ca. 1760-78

Etching of a vaulted ancient temple interior with relief panels, an altar, and small figures on the stone floor.

The so-called Temple of Bacchus, now the Church of S. Urban, interior (Veduta interna dell antico Tempio di Bacco, or…

Giovanni Battista Piranesi, ca. 1767

Pencil architectural drawing of a classical building with Ionic columns, cornice, and balustraded roofline on aged paper.

View of a Building in the Ionic Style

Harvey Lonsdale Elmes, 1830-47

Etching of the circular Tomb of Caecilia Metella with ruined battlements, arches, goats and figures in the foreground.

The tomb of Caecilia Metella, from Vedute di Roma (Roman Views)

Giovanni Battista Piranesi, ca. 1762

Etching of a crumbling Roman brick arch and portico with overgrown ruins and small figures in the foreground.

Remains of a covered portico, or a cryptoporticus, in a villa of Domitian, five miles outside Rome on the Frascati ro…

Giovanni Battista Piranesi, ca. 1766

Etching of a ruined brick temple with Corinthian columns, figures and goats among rocks in the foreground, and a distant temp

The so-called Temple of Salus, on the road to Albano (Tempio antico volgarmente detto della Salute)

Giovanni Battista Piranesi, ca. 1763

Pen and ink architectural study of a tiered monument with columns, niches with figures, and reclining statues above an arch.

Architectural Study

Michelangelo, n.d.

Pencil drawing of a Gothic tomb with a recumbent effigy, canopy of tracery and rows of carved standing figures.

Monument of Bishop Mays, Hereford Castle AD1516

Charles Barry, 19th century

Pencil sketch of a tall clocktower with two clock faces, pinnacles, and a spire on cream paper.

Clocktower

Charles Barry, 1840

Watercolor drawing of the ruined Roman Forum with a tall Corinthian column, an arch, and small figures among stone steps.

View of the Roman Forum, unexcavated

Charles Barry, 1840

Pen drawing of a symmetrical Renaissance-style palazzo facade with arched ground floor, pedimented windows, and central balco

Design for a Public Building in the Italian Renaissance Palazzo Style

Charles Barry, ca. 1840

Pen and brown ink drawing of two ornate urns flanking a draped armor design with scale-like patterns and putti.

Ornamental Design with Amphore and Antique Style Armor

Polidoro da Caravaggio, 16th century

Pen and ink drawing of two decorated classical vases flanking a central panel with a helmet and draped tassels.

Ornamental Design with Amphore and Antique Style Armor (recto); Sketch with Two Figures (verso)

Polidoro da Caravaggio, 16th century

Watercolor ceiling design with a central circular opening, floral garlands, scrolling foliage, and a small vignette of two bi

Ceiling Design with Center Cut Out

J. S. Pearse, 1854-68

Pen and brown ink drawing of a plumed landsknecht soldier in a flowing cloak holding a pole, standing on a ground line.

Landsknecht

Hans Leonhard Schäufelein, early 16th century

Watercolor lunette of a kneeling woman in pink, three crowned youths around her, and putti in floral garland borders.

Three Boys Save the Despairing Pamina from Suicide

Moritz von Schwind, 1864