Billed as a “once in a lifetime exhibition”, this Ashmolean show offers the chance to see 120 drawings by the great Renaissance artist, brought together from collections all over the world. The drawings span Raphael’s brilliant but tragically short career (he died of a fever aged only 37): from his early days in Umbria, through his time in Florence, to the period when he reached the pinnacle of his creative achievements, in Rome, working on major commissions such as the Vatican frescoes. Raphael’s legacy is built on his immaculate painting, but this show aims to reveal the more intimate, expressive side of his art.
The Ashmolean’s unrivalled Raphaels are joined by works from the Albertina and loans from other international collections including the Louvre, the Uffizi and the Queen. Drawings included the exquisite Head of a Muse, which broke records when auctioned at Christies in 2009, as well as the sublime Heads and Hands of two Apostles, considered to be the finest drawing Raphael ever made.
The exhibition aims to transform our understanding of Raphael through a focus on the immediacy and expressiveness of his drawing. It will show how Raphael, throughout his career, engaged in an intensive search through drawing for possibilities of expression that would enable him to fulfil his far-reaching ambitions.
Raphael: The Drawings
Ashmolean, Oxford, until 3 September
