Master Draughtsmen from Caravaggio's Circle

12.10.2010 to 13.02.2011

Gemäldegalerie

It is a widely held view that Michelangelo Merisi, known as Caravaggio, (Milan 1571 - Porto Ercole 1610), the revolutionary painter of real life, never made drawings himself and also eschewed using preparatory drawings to create his paintings, but rather transferred his impressions of nature and of real people directly onto his canvases.

It is indeed true that until today, not a single drawing is known to us that could be plausibly identified as being by the hand of the great artist himself. Furthermore, drawings by the many painters who were heavily influenced by his seminal works are also rare. In spite of this, however, some 16 sheets of great interest, from the period dating from around 1600 to ca. 1630 have been selected from the Kupferstichkabinett's extensive and exquisite collection of drawings and prints that clearly illustrate the significance of the artistic medium of drawing in Caravaggio's circle.

This one-room show, presented by the Kupferstichkabinett, accompanies the Gemäldegalerie's exhibition 'Homage to Caravaggio 1610-2010' that will be on display from 12 November 2010 to 6 March 2011 in the Gemäldegalerie, Kulturforum, held to mark the 400th anniversary of the great artist's death.