Renaissance at Oxford

An exhibition of drawings by the Italian renaissance master Raphael opened this week at the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford, an hour's train ride from London.

Running until 3 September, it offers a unique insight, into the inner workings of one of the three greatest artists of his time. Dating from the early part of his career to his death in 1520, aged just 37, these 120 exquisite preparatory studies provide a vivid cumulative picture of the creative processes that went into his paintings.

The drawings are on display in 3 rooms on the third floor of the Museum. The museum's own permanent collection holds the world's largest and most important group of Raphael drawings. To these have been added material from the Albertina Museum in Vienna and other drawings from private collections in several countries.

The exhibition shows how Raphael developed his skills from his early days in the city of Urbino to his vibrant creative years in Florence and finally to Rome, where he reached the peak of his art working in the Vatican.

By looking at these drawings we can gain a true insight into how Raphael conceived his masterful paintings. The immediacy of the drawings is thrilling, as is his mastery of draughtsmanship and multiple techniques. But what is most striking is the way he depicts emotions through contrasts of light and shade.

A fascinating video at the entrance of the exhibition explains the artist's varied techniques while a nearby vitrine displays samples of the materials he would have used.

It was customary at the time for artists to learn by copying and it is evident here that Raphael copied the great masters, his older contemporaries Leonardo and Michelangelo, to hone his painterly skills. This exhibition puts on show his learning curve, and for anyone interested in art it is itself a great learning opportunity.

Article by Claudia Barbieri

Study for the Massacre of the Innocents, c. 1509–10Pen and brown ink over red chalk and geometrical indications in stylus, selectively pricked for transfer, 23.2 x 37.7 cm© Trustees of the British Museum — Study for the Massacre of the Innocents, c. 1509–10
Pen and brown ink over red chalk and geometrical indications in stylus, selectively pricked for transfer, 23.2 x 37.7 cm
© Trustees of the British Museum

意大利文艺复兴大师拉斐尔的画作展本周在牛津的Ashmolean博物馆开幕，距离伦敦一个小时的火车。

展览持续到9月3日。它提供了独特的见解，深入到拉斐尔时期的三位最伟大的艺术家之一的内部作品。从其事业生涯的早期到1520年其去世，年仅37岁，这120件精致的作品对其画作中的创造性过程提供了生动的图景。

这些画作在博物馆三楼的三间展览室内展出。博物馆本身的永久性藏品中包含了拉斐尔画作中最大以及最重要的一部分。除此之外，还有来自维也纳Albertina博物馆的材料，以及其他来自不同国家的私人收藏的画作。

该展览展示了拉斐尔发展期绘画技巧的过程，从他早年在Urbino的画作到在佛罗伦萨的充满灵动的创作岁月，直至在梵蒂冈达到其艺术作品巅峰罗马时期。

通过观赏这些画作，你能够真正了解到拉斐尔是如何看待自己的大作的。画作的及时性和其技巧和多样技能的把握都是令人激动的。但是最惊人的是其透过光线和阴影的对比刻画情绪的方式。

在展览入口处展示的一个令人惊叹的视频中解释了这位艺术家多样的技巧，而在附近则有一个玻璃展柜展示其用过的材料的样品。

当时艺术家们通过临摹进行学习是很常见的，并且很明显拉斐尔临摹了大师的作品，比他年长的同时代大师达芬奇和米开朗琪罗，以此打磨其绘画技艺。该展览展示了他的学习曲线。而对于任何对艺术感兴趣的人来说，这本身就是一次绝佳的学习机会。

文章由 Claudia Barbieri 所著