British Museum holds an exhibition with a majority of drawings in the exhibition are working studies, and as such were never intended to be seen outside the studio. Featuring 100 works by amongst others Fra Angelico, Jacopo and Gentile Bellini, Botticelli, Carpaccio, Leonardo da Vinci, Filippo Lippi, Mantegna, Michelangelo, Titian and Verrocchio.
Where?
British Museum, Great Russell Street, London, WC1B 3DG
When?
22 April – 25 July 2010 / Reading Room
How Much?
Admission charge £12 plus a range of concessions.
Opening hours 10.00–17.30 Sunday to Wednesday, 10.00–20.30 Thursdays and Fridays
Fra Angelico to Leonardo: Italian Renaissance drawings
Drawn from the two foremost collections in the field, the Gabinetto Disegni e Stampe Uffizi in Florence and the British Museum, the display will chart the increasing importance of drawing during the period between 1400 and 1510, featuring 100 works by amongst others Fra Angelico, Jacopo and Gentile Bellini, Botticelli, Carpaccio, Leonardo da Vinci, Filippo Lippi, Mantegna, Michelangelo, Titian and Verrocchio. In addition, infrared reflectography and other non-invasive scientific analysis of the works will give fresh insights into the techniques and creative thinking of Renaissance artists as they experimented with a freedom not always apparent in their finished works.
In 15th century Italy a fundamental shift took place in the use of preparatory drawings. The starting point of 1400 marks the beginning of the Renaissance, which saw the development of perspective, an increased interest in classical forms and a greater focus on naturalism. The exhibition closes with the early drawings by Raphael and Michelangelo, prior to their departure to Rome and the unfolding of the High Renaissance.
Nevertheless the majority of drawings in the exhibition are working studies, and as such were never intended to be seen outside the studio. Drawings allowed artists to practice and refine designs for paintings. It was during the 15th century that the stages of designing a painting from initial sketch to final design were worked out and this process remained in place until the modern age. Exploratory compositional studies were followed by detailed sketches of figures and important motifs, sometimes concluding with a same size drawing of the design known as cartoon. The exhibition will include the first surviving study for a panel painting: Lorenzo Monaco’s study in the Uffizi of around 1407 for the left-wing of his Coronation of the Virgin altarpiece from the National Gallery, London. The drawing and the related panel will be brought together for the first time.
Fra Angelico to Leonardo will travel to the Uffizi in Florence after it closes in London on 25 July 2010.
Author: Ty_Lee
Ty is a lover of all things art - from the classical to the neo classical, his appetite for art is insatiable. Devouring all forms and patterns, he is constantly on the look out for art that elicits emotion reactions within his own continuum and those of others. Always friendly and happy to have a chin wag about the latest art his Buddhist views permeate the kaleidoscope of his vision.
