Raphael: the Drawings

Fantastic exhibition at the Ashmolean Museum looking at drawings by Raphael.

The show was well themed taking you through different subject matter then into some Raphael’s later projects so there was a chronological feel as well. The commentaries were excellent and were good at pointing out the purpose of the picture whether it was a finished work, a study for a project or a working sketch. The show was beautifully displayed with nice central units with deep wooden frames set into them in places. These were particularly useful for double sided drawings.

However the works themselves were so lovely you could have put them in any order or context and they would still have shone. I particularly liked the rougher drawings where he was obviously working through an idea and you could see changes and though patterns. I loved the section on his work in Rome as I have studied the Vatican frescos so often on courses plus fell in love with the Palazzo Farnese on a trip last year.

My favourite picture was a study of two naked boys, probably studio assistants, to which Raphael had added a pile of clothes and the hint of river bank to make them look like two boys bathing. Shades of Seurat?

Closes on 3 September 2017

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