What is the largest sharp print size for A Costumed Actor in Front of a Curtain?

At 300 dpi, this 2,692 × 3,454 px file prints up to 9 × 11.5 in with gallery-sharp detail. At 150 dpi the file reaches 17.9 × 23 in, which is poster-sharp quality.

Which standard frame sizes give gallery-sharp prints of A Costumed Actor in Front of a Curtain?

Gallery-sharp (300 dpi or above) frame sizes: 8 × 10 in. Sharp-to-poster-quality sizes also work: 11 × 14 in, 12 × 16 in, 16 × 20 in.

Does printing A Costumed Actor in Front of a Curtain require cropping the image?

Standard frame aspect ratios may not match this artwork exactly; depending on the size chosen, up to 14% of the image could be cropped. Most print-on-demand services let you adjust the crop position or add a white mat border instead.

A Costumed Actor in Front of a Curtain — Gustave Doré | Free high-res download

A Costumed Actor in Front of a Curtain

Gustave Doré · The Met, New York

Public domain · CC0 · $0.002,692 × 3,454 px · 9.3 MP

Prints gallery-sharp up to9 × 11.5 inat 300 dpi, uncropped · poster-sharp to 17.9 × 23 in at 150 dpi

The download is the Met's own open-access file, served by the Met. Big file — give it a minute.

Build the wall set

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How big can you print it?

Standard frame sizes, turned to match the artwork. "Crops" is how much of the picture you lose filling that frame edge to edge — or keep it all and let a mat take up the difference.

Frame	Effective dpi	Verdict	Crops
8 × 10 in	336	Gallery sharp	3%
11 × 14 in	244	Sharp up close	1%
12 × 16 in	215	Sharp up close	4%
16 × 20 in	168	Poster sharp	3%
18 × 24 in	143	Fine across a room	4%
24 × 36 in	95	Too soft	14%
30 × 40 in	86	Too soft	4%

Will it fit over your couch? Put this one on your wall, to scale — crop or mat, frame size, hang height and the order.

The ticket

A Costumed Actor in Front of a Curtain is a work on paper by Gustave Doré (French, Strasbourg 1832–1883 Paris). Pen and black ink, graphite, heightened with white. Size on the museum record: 7 3/16 x 5 1/2 in. (18.3 x 14 cm). The Metropolitan Museum of Art holds it in its Drawings and Prints collection — The Elisha Whittelsey Collection, The Elisha Whittelsey Fund, 1959.

The Met catalogs A Costumed Actor in Front of a Curtain as a pen and black ink, graphite, heightened with white by Gustave Doré. The museum gives no firm date for it, and files it under accession 59.600.266 in Drawings and Prints. Spend a minute with the composition before choosing a size: notice where the eye lands first and where it rests. The Met's scan measures 2,692 × 3,454 pixels, which prints about 9.0 × 11.5 in at 300 dpi and 17.9 × 23.0 in at a still-comfortable 150 dpi. Its tall proportions suit a hallway, a narrow wall or the gap beside a door, and the set builder shows how much each standard frame would crop. Its muted earth tones are forgiving: natural wood softens the palette, walnut deepens it and black frames it like a gallery. Works on paper are quiet. Print near the original's scale instead of blowing it up, and keep it out of direct sun like the museum does. Light it from above with a soft warm bulb, hang the centre of the picture near 57 inches, and it will read as intended instead of as decoration.

The Met released its scan under CC0, which means no permission, no fee and no credit line required. That file is 2,692 × 3,454 pixels — 9.3 megapixels — good for a gallery-sharp print up to 9 × 11.5 in. That is bigger than the work on paper itself, which measures about 5.5 × 7.2 in — the file holds more detail than you can see standing in front of the original.Works on paper are quiet. Print near the original’s size rather than blowing it up, mat it generously, and keep it out of direct sun — the same rules the museum follows for the real one.