Catherine Whistler

Raphael and Michelangelo were both superb draughtsmen, whose drawings were sought after by other artists and by collectors in their own time. Trained in the Quattrocento workshop tradition of skilful control in drawing, and inspired by the innovations of Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo and Raphael each brought technical mastery to new heights and in so doing transformed the status of drawing itself. In this handbook the technique and purpose of a variety of drawings by both artists are scrutinised in an attempt to examine the attitude to drawing and the working methods of these temperamentally opposed masters. The drawings selected are all in the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford, which has one of the finest groups of Raphael drawings in the world and an important collection of drawings by Michelangelo.

Michelangelo and Raphael Drawings

Paolo Uccello

One of the Ashmolean's masterpieces, 'The Hunt in the Forest' is a magical and enigmatic picture. This book examines all aspects of this famous painting.

Paolo Uccello's The Hunt in the Forest

Featuring over a hundred drawings from the outstanding collections of graphic art at the Uffizi, Florence, and the Ashmolean, and Christ Church, Oxford, Drawing in Venice is based on ground-breaking new research and accompanies an Ashmolean-Uffizi collaborative exhibition (2015-16) which traces continuities in Venetian drawing over three centuries, from around 1500 down to the foundation of the first academy of art in Venice in 1750. Venetian art has long been associated with brilliant colours and free brushwork, but drawing has been written out of its history. This book highlights the significance of drawing as a concept and as a practice in the artistic life of Venice. It reveals the variety of aims, purposes, and techniques in drawing through the works of the Venetian Renaissance masters Giovanni Bellini, Titian, and Tintoretto to those of the great eighteenth-century artists, Giovanni Battista Tiepolo and Canaletto. Contents: 4 Introductory Essays: (1) Catherine Whistler 'Drawing in Venice from Titian to Canaletto: practice and perception'; (2) Giorgio Marini 'Disegni a stampa: drawing practice and printmaking in Venice from the sixteenth to the eighteenth centuries'; (3) Marzia Faietti 'Giorgio Vasari's Life of Titian: critical misinterpretations and preconceptions concerning Venetian drawing'; (4) Jacqueline Thalmann 'General John Guise and his collection of Venetian drawings'; 104 catalogue entries discussing individual drawings Glossary of materials and techniques of drawing; 47 summary artist biographies; Bibliography.

Titian to Canaletto

Drawing in Venice

Colin Harrison

Ashmolean Museum

Jon Whiteley

For the first time ever, all paintings in the Department of Western Art in the Ashmolean Museum have been brought together in one volume. Every picture is illustrated and almost all are represented in colour. Biographies of all known artists in the collection are also included, making this catalogue an invaluable reference work for specialist libraries, collectors and general readers alike.

Complete Illustrated Catalogue of Paintings

The Ashmolean Museum

Michelangelo Buonarroti

Raphael

Michelangelo and Raphael, in spite of their strongly contrasting characters, have many points of contact as draughtsmen. Looking to Leonardo, who had pioneered new techniques, they transformed the practice and status of drawing, using it to achieve the same expressive and affecting ends as painting or sculpture. Both artists raised technical mastery to new heights. In this selection from the Ashmolean Museum's famous collection, Catherine Whistler examines the technique and purpose of the drawings, and what they tell us about the artists' interests, development and working methods. Each picture is accompanied by a detailed commentary, and the whole volume provides an illuminating introduction to Renaissance drawing through the works of two of its greatest masters.

Drawings by Michelangelo and Raphael

-This book will accompany a 'once in a generation' show, the like of which has not been seen for over thirty years The Ashmolean Museum and the Albertina are collaborating on a two-part exhibition project that will examine anew the role and the significance of drawing in Raphael's career. The Ashmolean holds the greatest collection of Raphael drawings in the world, and the Albertina is the custodian of a major collection including some of the most beautiful and important of the artist's sketches. Taken together, the two collections provide extraordinary resources that, amplified by carefully-selected international loans, will allow us to transform our understanding of the art of Raphael. The Oxford exhibition is based on new research by Dr Catherine Whistler of the Ashmolean Museum and Dr Ben Thomas from the University of Kent, in collaboration with Dr Achim Gnann of the Albertina. It will take Raphael's art of drawing as its focus, with the concept of eloquence as its underlying structure. Oratory runs as a linking thread in Raphael's drawings, which stand out for the importance given to the study of gestures, facial expressions, and drapery. Moreover, Raphael treated the expressive figure of the orator - poet, philosopher, muse, apostle, saint or sibyl - in fascinating and significant ways throughout his life. This selection of drawings demonstrates how Raphael created a specific mode of visual invention and persuasive communication through drawing. He used drawing both as conceptual art (including brainstorming sheets) and as a practice based on attentive observation (such as drawing from the posed model). Yet Raphael's drawings also reveal how the process of drawing in itself, with its gestural rhythms and spontaneity, can be a form of thought, generating new ideas. The Oxford exhibition will present drawings that span Raphael's entire career, encompassing many of his major projects and exploring his visual language from inventive ideas to full compositions. The extraordinary range of drawings by Raphael in the Ashmolean and the Albertina, enhanced by appropriate loans, will enable this exhibition to cast new light on this familiar artist, transforming our understanding of Raphael's art. This book preludes a major exhibition, which will run from June to September 2017, with a range of events happening throughout this time.

Catherine Whistler

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