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.
Jumba la Makumbusho la Ashmolean na Albertina wanashirikiana katika mradi wa maonyesho ya sehemu mbili ambayo itachunguza tena jukumu na umuhimu wa kuchora katika kazi ya Raphael. Jumba la sanaa la Ashmolean lina mkusanyiko mkubwa zaidi wa michoro ya Raphael ulimwenguni, na Albertina ni mlinzi wa mkusanyiko mkubwa ikiwa ni pamoja na baadhi ya michoro nzuri na muhimu zaidi ya msanii. Pamoja, makusanyo hayo mawili hutoa rasilimali za kipekee ambazo, zikiimarishwa na mikopo ya kimataifa iliyochaguliwa kwa uangalifu, zitaturuhusu kubadilisha uelewa wetu wa sanaa ya Raphael. Maonyesho hayo ya Oxford yanategemea utafiti mpya uliofanywa na Dk Catherine Whistler wa Jumba la Makumbusho la Ashmolean na Dk Ben Thomas wa Chuo Kikuu cha Kent, kwa kushirikiana na Dk Achim Gannon wa Albertina. Itatumia sanaa ya Raphael ya kuchora kama lengo lake, na dhana ya usemi kama muundo wake wa msingi. Maonyesho ya usemi ni jambo linalohusianishwa na michoro ya Raphael, ambayo huonekana kwa sababu ya umuhimu uliopewa kujifunza ishara za mwili, nyuso, na mapambo. Isitoshe, Raphael alitumia njia zenye kuvutia na zenye maana katika maisha yake yote kueleza kuhusu msemaji - mshairi, mwanafalsafa, mchawi, mtume, mtakatifu, au Sibylle. Uchaguzi huu wa michoro unaonyesha jinsi Raphael alivyounda njia maalum ya uvumbuzi wa kuona na mawasiliano ya kushawishi kupitia uchoraji. Alitumia kuchora wote kama sanaa ya dhana (ikiwa ni pamoja na brainstorming karatasi) na kama mazoezi kulingana na uchunguzi makini (kama vile kuchora kutoka mfano iliyowekwa). Hata hivyo michoro ya Raphael pia inaonyesha jinsi mchakato wa kuchora yenyewe, na rhythms yake ya ishara na spontaneity, inaweza kuwa aina ya mawazo, kuzalisha mawazo mapya. Maonyesho hayo yatatoa michoro ambayo inazunguka kazi nzima ya Raphael, ikijumuisha miradi yake mingi mikubwa na kuchunguza lugha yake ya kuona kutoka kwa mawazo ya ubunifu hadi mchanganyiko kamili. """Utaratibu wa ajabu wa michoro ya Raphael katika Ashmolean na Albertina, iliyoimarishwa na mikopo sahihi, itawezesha maonyesho haya kutupa mwanga mpya juu ya msanii huyu wa kawaida, kubadilisha uelewa wetu wa sanaa ya Raphael." Kitabu hiki kinatangulia maonyesho makubwa, ambayo yataendelea kuanzia Juni hadi Septemba 2017, na matukio mbalimbali yatatokea wakati huu.