Raphael. Drawings in Budapest

Raphael, the youngest of the famous Renaissance triad including Leonardo and Michelangelo, made an exceptionally deep impression on Italian art. In his highly organized and prolific workshop many gifted artists, protagonists of the next generation worked under Raphael's supervision, such as Giulio Romano, Perino del Vaga and Polidoro da Caravaggio. Raphael was among the first to recognize the advantages of reproducing his compositions in print. Collaborating with the most eminent Italian engraver, Marcantonio Raimondi, he conducted a successful undertaking which marks the birth of print publishing business in Rome.

The Museum of Fine Arts in Budapest preserves six drawings by Raphael and numerous sheets by his pupils and includes each significant print made in close collaboration with Raphael. The sixty-five masterpieces in the exhibition demonstrate Raphael's genius as well as the next generation's relation to his unparalleled artistic legacy. It is the first occasion that the Esterházy Madonna is exhibited in the context of drawings. Its underdrawings, visible even to the naked eye, supported by a recent technical analysis, offers an extraordinary occasion to understand Raphael's working method. The exhibition was preceded by a detailed technical examination of the Raphael drawings, which will be first published in the catalogue accompanying the show.