BRITISH MUSEUM PRESENTS 'FRA ANGELICO TO LEONARDO: ITALIAN RENAISSANCE DRAWINGS'

A NEW EXHIBITION AT LONDON'S BRITISH MUSEUM UNITES ARGUABLY THE WORLD'S TWO GREATEST COLLECTIONS OF RENAISSANCE DRAWINGS AND UNDERLINES THEIR GROWING IMPORTANCE TO ARTISTS THROUGHOUT THE 15th CENTURY. 'FRA ANGELICO TO LEONARDO: ITALIAN RENAISSANCE DRAWINGS' DISPLAYS AROUND 100 WORKS BY FRA ANGELICO, BOTTICELLI, LEONARDO DA VINCI, MANTEGNA, MICHELANGELO AND TITIAN IN A SHOW ALREADY BEING HAILED BY CRITICS AS A FIVE STAR EVENT. IT COMBINES WORKS FROM THE MUSEUM'S OWN COLLECTION AND FROM THAT OF THE UFFIZI IN FLORENCE. THE SHOW RUNS FROM 22.APRIL THROUGH 25.JULY AND THE TRANSFERS TO THE UFFIZ. THE EXHIBITION EXPLAINS HOW DRAWINGS WERE USED TO PREPARE FOR MAJOR PAINTINGS AND FRESCOES AND, LATER IN THE 15th CENTURY, HOW THEY BECAME WORKS OF ART IN THEIR OWN RIGHT, PARTICULARLY WITH THE ARRIVAL OF PRINT-MAKING FROM NORTHERN EUROPE. IN ADDITION TO OFTEN DETAILED AND EXQUISITE PICTURES OF FIGURES, LIMBS AND DRAPERY ARE FAST, ROUGH SKETCHES BY THE LIKES OF DA VINCI WHO USED PEN AND INK DRAWINGS AS A WAY OF BRAINSTORMING AND ARRIVING AT IDEAS FOR MAJOR WORKS. THE SHOW ALSO UNDERLINES HOW THE DEVELOPMENT OF PAPER, A CHEAPER ALTERNATIVE TO VELLUM, WAS KEY TO DRAWING'S EXPANSION. MOST OF THE WORKS ON DISPLAY WERE NEVER INTENDED FOR PUBLIC EXHIBITION ALTHOUGH TODAY THEY WOULD BE CONSIDERED MASTERPIECES.
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