Old Master Drawings from Chatsworth

The collection of old master drawings at Chatsworth House, Derbyshire, contains the work of the great masters of the Renaissance including works by Leonardo da Vinci, Raphael, Titian, Rubens, Van Dyck and Rembrandt. Formed in the first half of the 18th century it remains largely intact and is celebrated as the finest in private hands. Over two hundred drawings, many of which have never, or only rarely been exhibited before, will be shown at the British Museum in 1993 and are fully illustrated in this accompanying catalogue. The particular strength of the collection lies in works by the great masters of the Italian Renaissance period. The selection reflects this by including works from all the main artistic centres of Italy. Florence is represented by Filipino Lippi, Domenico Ghirlandiao, Andrea del Sarto, Rosso Fiorentino and Giorgio Vasari; Rome by Baldassare Peruzzi and Giulio romano; Emilia by Parmigianino and Correggio; Venice by Carpaccio, Sebastiano del Piombo, Campagnola, and Veronese. The Italian Baroque is well represented, with numerous works by members of the Carracci family and representative examples by Castiglione, Domenichino, Guido Reni, Guercino, Pietro da Cortona, Carol Maratti and Pier Francesco Mola. Although less numerous, the drawings by artists from northern Europe are also of exceptional quality, ranging from Durer and Holbein in Germany, and Pieter Bruegel the Elder, Paul Bril and Hendrick Goltzius in the Netherlands, to Claude Lorrain, Jacques Callot and Watteau in France. The Chatsworth collection was formed largely in the first half of the 18th century by the 2nd Duke of Devonshire, one of the most remarkable connoisseurs of his time. He assembled a wide-ranging and extensive group of drawings from continental and British sources, the quality of which inspired other collectors to follow his lead. But few succeeded in rivalling his achievement.