Adolph MENZEL
German 1815–1905
A man's head 1886
pencil
20.9 x 12.8 cm
National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne
Purchased, 1895
Edward LEAR
English 1812–88
Krendy, Gozo, Malta 1866 (detail in heading)
pen and ink and watercolour
19.5 x 45.6 cm
National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne
Purchased, 1947
Drawing has been central to the creative process of artists since the Renaissance. It has been a primary method of generating and giving form to ideas; of attaining skill in the representation of the visible world; and is the medium most suited to expressing the internal workings of the imagination. Drawings have been made as studies in the preparation of finished works of art and as autonomous statements in themselves.
This exhibition explores the diversity and continuity of drawing practice from the fifteenth century until the present day. It traces some of the different ways in which drawing has been used by painters, sculptors and designers and highlights, through a number of themes and genres, both formal and conceptual connections between drawing practices across time. These include nude, landscape and portrait drawings, as well as caricature, scientific illustration, and abstraction.
The exhibition comprises 80 international and Australian drawings from the collection and is augmented by a small number of loans.
The 32-page, colour illustrated room brochure is available – Purchase online now at NGV Shop!
