Satyrs Jousting

Anonymous, French, 18th century

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Block-printed wallpaper was frequently used in Neoclassical interior decoration, and the small pin marks around the edges of this fragment reveal that it was at one time affixed to a wall. Its horizontal orientation and rectangular dimensions indicate that it was part of a border, which would have been placed near the ceiling or above the wainscot. The components of the scene, such as the lances surmounted with acorns, originate from Antique sources and are also found in Belanger's drawing for the dining room of the Bagatelle Pavilion hanging nearby. The playful image of putti-satyrs balanced astride leopards reminds the viewer that Neoclassical ornament was not restricted to academic discourse or edification but could be entertaining as well.

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.

Metropolitan Museum of Art