Classical Interior with a Statue of Hercules

Jean-Arnaud Raymond

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

This drawing contains a view of a classical interior, likely a temple or palace, with two separate spaces divided by a double colonnade. In the first room, a large bronze statue of Hercules with the Nemean Lion is placed on a pedestal. Other marble statues are places in niches along the wall. Several human figures have been placed in the interior, dressed in classical attire. The drawing is attributed to Jean Arnaud Raymond, who is most famous for his role in the design and erection of the famous Arc de Triomphe on the Place d'Etoile in Paris. This sheet appears to date from the time of the Napoleonic regime, and is therefore close in date to the building activities of the famous triumphal arch in Paris.

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