From Michelangelo to Annibale Carracci. A century of italian drawings from the Prado

Marking the first time that most of these extraordinary works have appeared beyond the walls of the Prado Museum, this exhibition explores the working methods of the most important artists active in Italy during a time of unprecedented artistic patronage. Focusing on examples from Mannerism to the early Baroque period (1520-1620), the works have been selected by Guest Curator, Nicholas Turner, formerly of the J. Paul Getty Museum and the British Museum, and a specialist in Renaissance and Baroque drawings. Giulio Romano, Paolo Veronese, Giorgio Vasari, and Andrea del Sarto are just a few of the artists represented by detailed studies for commissioned works, as well as intimate primi pensieri - the quick sketches that captured the "heat" of a creative moment. The drawings demonstrate the intrinsic importance of the medium, as well as its significance in the artistic process. Not only highly refined works which were used in preparation for paintings, but also rapid compositional sketches and figure studies are included in the presentation. Research in preparation for the exhibition revealed that the two Michelangelo drawings included are figure studies for the Sistine Chapel's Last Judgment.

The sixteenth century was a key period for the development of a variety of regional and individual styles of drawing in Europe. During the first half of the century, the technical and representational innovations in figure drawing pioneered at the end of the fifteenth century by Leonardo da Vinci and other Renaissance masters were consolidated and improved upon to such a degree that artists were able to put the practice to a wider range of functions than ever before, achieving exceptional technical proficiency as they did so. By the end of the sixteenth century, drawing was used more and more to record human appearance truthfully, placing the figure within a real setting that showed actual effects of daylight and shadow.

The exhibition, which will travel to three U.S. museums in 2008-2009, reflects the variety and types of drawings produced during this pivotal century, and investigates the artistic characteristics of various geographical regions.

The exhibition premieres at the Frick Art & Historical Center, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (October 25, 2008 - January 4, 2009); and then travels to the Mary and Leigh Block Museum of Art, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois (January 24 - April 5, 2009); and to the Philbrook Museum of Art, Tulsa, Oklahoma (April 25 - July 5, 2009).