Peter Lely : the draughtsman and his collection

Fascinating exhibition at the Courtauld Gallery to complement their current main exhibition on the artist, looking at drawings by Lely and his substantial collection of drawings.
 
Lely had one of the great collections of drawings and prints in England in the 17th century. At a sale on his death there were 10,000 works, each of which was market PL before the sale so they can now be traced in museums throughout the world.

There is an emphasis in the collection on figures and drapery and many works were used as inspiration for his own work. The exhibition shone a spot light on collections of this period and how an artist used the work of others as models.

I loved an ornamental head by Giulio Romano as I had seen a recent exhibition of his drawings in Paris, also a St Mark by Fra Bartolmmeo for San Marco in Florence.

 

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