Traces: Renaissance Drawings for Flemish Prints

Learned exhibition at the Courtauld Gallery of drawings used by Flemish print makers in Antwerp in the 16th century.

This is quite a niche show but you know me, I like niche. There are some exquisite drawings many of them shown with the final print also excellent commentaries telling you about the artist, engravers and publisher.

The star of the show was the amazingly detailed Pieter Bruegel the Elder of The Fair at Hoboken from 1559. The copper plate for the print was used for 200 years. The print was clearer but more crude than the drawing.

I loved a drawing by print maker Johannes Wierix from 1586 of the Pool of Bethesda and it was a nice touch there were also prints by him based on drawings by other artists. Also Jan Van def Staet’s view of the Arno with a river god from 1575 which had originally been a design for a tapestry for Grand Duke Cosimo I. The figure of the river god had been changed by cutting out the paper it was on an inserting a new version.

Closes 25 September 2022


Review

Evening Standard


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