Exhibition review by Peter Clossick PPLG
What fascinates me about the Renaissance period is that artists had few opportunities to express their personalities from the Egyptian to the Medieval era. The strict uniformity of style rules and conventions left little room for personal choice or self-expression. There needed to be more scope; no choice meant no self-expression. With the Renaissance, the breadth afforded to the individual increased with individual differences, bringing us closer to the artist and the leading practitioners whose skill was supreme.
Leaving behind the Quattrocento and entering the Cinquecento, the High Renaissance was a significant period of great discovery. Mathematics and the laws of perspective, anatomy and the human body created broader horizons, and the artist was no longer a mere craftsman working with their hands. Employing these renowned masters would perpetuate your name and elevate your societal status. This newfound freedom for the artist has led us through an unbroken line to the present day. This is why the King’s Gallery exhibition is so fascinating to see this breakthrough of artistic expression.
It is a large exhibition with many works on display and too many artists to list. All drawings and working studies were used only for the finished product; some were probably made as gifts for the patron. Remarkably, they have survived through the centuries. Drawings and sketches with charcoal, chalk, and watercolour were made with astounding skill. Raphael was among the few Renaissance artists who drew from a nude female model
A cropped image of a drawing by da Vinci (who dissected more than thirty corpses to reveal human anatomy)
Leonardo saved the precious paper with multiple drawings; many other artists’ drawings are on both sides of the sheet. There are almost 2,000 drawings in the Royal Collection, many acquired by Charles II (who reigned 1660-85).
The new method of paper production made it more affordable and allowed artists to sketch and draw with greater freedom. There is a notable difference between styles, such as Raphael, who modelled their forms, and Baccio Bandinelli (1493-1560), who carved the forms.
The exhibition has many examples, almost too much to absorb, some of the most beautiful drawings I have seen in a long while.
The drawings are displayed in three groups: studies for small devotional works, altarpieces, and wall paintings in churches and other spaces. When I went, it was heaving with visitors on a Friday morning, which shows its popularity.
Around 1500, the period produced many of the world’s greatest artists, for whom nothing seemed impossible. To get a taste of quality, compare it to a banana taped to a wall with gaffa tape, which has an auction estimate of 1 million dollars, as an example of 21st-century production. This fabulous exhibition is eye-opening to what is possible.
Peter Clossick PPLG, Nov ’24
‘Drawing the Italian Renaissance’
The King’s Gallery
Buckingham Palace
1 Nov 2024 to 9 Mar 2025
Photos by Peter Clossick. Please note, some of the photographs have capture light reflections in the glass.