Drawing the Italian Renaissance

During the Renaissance drawing became an esteemed activity. Georgio Vasari declared disegno (drawing) the father of the three arts (painting, sculpture, and architecture).

The Royal Collection holds one of the world’s greatest collections of Renaissance drawings. This exhibition of around 160 works on paper includes works by Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo, Raphael and Titian as well as lesser-known artists and explores how drawing evolved from a tool in workshop practice into an art form in its own right during this period.

The works on display differ vastly in subject, ranging from sacred compositions to secular decorations, studies of heads and figures, and of landscapes, plants and animals reflecting the burgeoning interest in mankind and the surrounding world. At the same time materials expanded to include metalpoint, pen and ink, chalks and coloured washes, on all kinds of papers.