Cadmus killing the Dragon
Léon Davent
An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art
Léon Davent, of whom little more is known than his name and that he made more than 200 prints (most of which record designs produced by artists who worked at the palace of Fontainebleau) began his printmaking career as an engraver. Although he soon turned to etching, apparently delighting in the freedom of movement this medium allowed, his hatching exhibits a certain evenness and control that must be the legacy of his early training in engraving. In this etching, we can see the pleasure the artist took in creating linear pattern, whether the squiggly lines that indicate the rough bark of the tree or the sinuous curves that reinforce the twisting of the dragon's neck. This print also provides an excellent example of Davent's preference for an all-over gray tone, from which a few lighter areas stand out, giving subtle relief to the forms. This is achieved firstly by covering almost the entire surface of the plate, including the sky, with a close-knit web of lines. Davent also left most of the plate rough—or even, in the case of this print, deliberately roughened it—so that it would hold a film of ink. Only a few areas are polished smooth, hold little ink, and read as highlights.
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.