Unlike in Italy and German-speaking countries, where 16th-century collectors had a taste for drawings, works on paper in the Low Countries before 1600 were made purely for utilitarian purposes, rarely leaving artists’ workshops and discarded more often than not. But even if they were primarily aids for creating paintings, prints, tapestries and stained glass, the few surviving drawings from the region have emerged as artworks in their own right. This exhibition, which includes some 120 works, is an opportunity to get acquainted with revelatory designs by artists including Pieter Bruegel the Elder, Lucas van Leyden and Hendrick Goltzius (16 April–20 September). A particular highlight is Rogier van der Weyden’s Portrait of a Young Woman (c. 1435–40), the only drawing believed to be by his own hand rather than by a member of his workshop. Rendered in silverpoint on ivory-coloured paper, it is remarkable both for its excellent condition and for its sense of personality.
Find out more from the British Museum’s website.
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