Peter Paul Rubens (1577 – 1640) God the Father surrounded by Angels, copied after Michelangelo’s ‘Creation of Adam’, drawn about 1601 – 2 Cartoons, Working Drawings and Studies Cartoons are named from the sturdy ‘cartone’ paper on which they were generally made. By copying from a master’s cartoons and studies, assistants were able to accurately transcribe the master’s original design onto the wall, board or canvas. François Boucher (1703 – 1770) Rustic Courtship, drawn about 1750 Teaching Drawings and Copies Students in workshops and academies were set drawing exercises such as sketching sculptures. They sometimes produced practice drawings as a warm up exercise to loosen the wrist. For centuries copying was considered one of the best ways to learn. The Figure Learning to draw the human figure was one of the cornerstones of formal artistic training in Europe for centuries. Mastering its depiction was considered essential. Baccio Bandinelli (1493 – 1560) Hercules seated on a grassy bank, drawn about 1514 Marteen van Heemskerk or an associate (1498 – 1574) The Forge of Vulcan, drawn about 1540 Studio of Rembrandt van Rijn (1606 – 1669) The Good Samaritan paying the innkeeper, drawn about 1648 For centuries, drawing lay at the centre of art. It was the language of lines and tones that the artist learnt before they were allowed to paint or sculpt and that they continued to use during their working life. Old Master Drawings GUERCINO, RUBENS AND TINTORETTO The Old Masters The works in this exhibition have been chosen to show the different uses of drawing to European artists between 1500 and 1800. At this time art students entered the workshops of established artists to be trained. Afterwards they could become masters of their own workshop if they were successful. The artist Guercino was apprenticed to the painter Benedetto Gennari the Elder when he was 16 years old. He later established his own workshop and opened an academy for life drawing in the house of one of his patrons. It is thought that Rubens learnt to draw by copying from the work of early German masters such as Holbein and Tobias Stimmer. He was later apprenticed under Tobias Verhaecht, Adam van Noort and Otto van Veen. Tintoretto came from an artisan family and is believed to have been expelled from Titian’s workshop as a youth. He later completed his training in Venice. Perino Buonaccorsi, called Perino del Vaga (1501 – 1547) Trojans appear before Dido, drawn about 1535 – 1547 Giulio Romano (1483 – 1546) Battle Scene with Elephants, drawn about 1500 – 1540