Buckingham Palace To Exhibit Unseen Renaissance Drawings

The King’s Gallery at Buckingham Palace in London is set to stage the United Kingdom’s widest-ranging exhibition of Italian Renaissance drawings. Opening in November, Drawing the Italian Renaissance will showcase several never-before-seen works by Italy’s most influential Old Masters.

Drawing the Italian Renaissance opens at the King’s Gallery in Buckingham Palace on November 1, 2024. The works in the exhibition belong to the Royal Collection and were drawn in Italy between 1450 and 1600. Due to conservation concerns, they cannot be permanently displayed, so they have rarely been exhibited. Of the approximately 160 Italian Renaissance drawings slated to go on view, 30 will be publicly shown for the first time.

“This exhibition brings together the widest range of drawings from this revolutionary artistic period ever to be shown in the UK,” said the Royal Collection Trust in a statement. “Exploring the diversity and accomplishment of drawing across Italy between 1450 and 1600, the exhibition will feature around 160 works by over 80 artists such as Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo, Raphael, and Titian alongside lesser-known artists, all drawn from the Royal Collection, which holds one of the world’s greatest collections of Italian Renaissance drawings.”

Notable Works Include Never-Before-Seen Titian

Many of the Italian Renaissance drawings in the upcoming exhibition were preparatory sketches for larger projects such as paintings, prints, and sculptures. The Three Graces by Raphael is an exhibition highlight. The red chalk drawing was a study for the artist’s fresco, The Wedding Feast of Cupid and Psyche, painted in Rome’s Villa Farnesina. A chalk study of an ostrich, attributed to Titian, will go on view for the first time in the UK. Intriguingly, the drawing suggests that Titian observed a live ostrich somewhere in 16th-century Venice.

The exhibition also features a unique drawing by Leonardo da Vinci, the quintessential Renaissance man. He drew A Costume Study for a Masque towards the end of his career while working at the French court, where he designed festive costumes for King Francis I. The oldest work in the exhibition is a rare surviving sketch by Fra Angelico. The Early Renaissance painter likely created the bust drawing in preparation for his Vatican frescoes at the Chapel of Pope Nicholas V.

A “Unique Opportunity” to See Renaissance Drawings

During the Renaissance, artists changed the way they worked by embracing intellectualism and individualism. They also elevated the art of drawing from a purely technical tool to an act of creativity in its own right. Martin Clayton, curator of Drawing the Italian Renaissance, said, “These big, bold, and colorful studies show just how exciting the art of drawing became during this time. The Italian Renaissance would have been impossible without drawing—it was central to every stage of the creative process.”

Clayton continued, “The exhibition is a unique opportunity to see such a wide range of drawings up close and gain an insight into the minds of these great Italian Renaissance artists.” Drawing the Italian Renaissance opens at the King’s Gallery in London’s Buckingham Palace on November 1, 2024. It runs until March 9, 2025. Exhibition attendees will be provided with paper and pencils and encouraged to make their own drawings.