The Curtain
Medium
Drypoint
Dimensions
sheet: 11 1/8 x 7 13/16 in. (28.3 x 19.8 cm) plate: 6 3/8 x 4 3/8 in. (16.2 x 11.1 cm)
Classification
Prints
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
The Elisha Whittelsey Collection, The Elisha Whittelsey Fund, 1970
Accession Number
1970.685.1
Tags
Art Historical Context
Fernand Khnopff’s 1904 drypoint *The Curtain* captures the quiet mystery that defines Belgian Symbolism. As a leading figure in this movement, Khnopff often explored themes of introspection, femininity, and veiled emotion, favoring suggestion over narrative clarity. The print’s modest scale—roughly the size of a postcard—invites close, personal viewing, much like the intimate encounters Symbolist artists sought to create. Printed under the auspices of the Société des Aquafortistes Belges, the work highlights the early-twentieth-century revival of original printmaking in Belgium. Drypoint tech...