Yahoo Movies Renaissance watercolour art takes centre-stage at the V&A
Delicate architectural sketches, intricately painted florals, beautifully illustrated manuscripts and miniature Royal portraits come together in the V&A’s new free display dedicated to Renaissance watercolour art, curated by Mark Evans and Elania Pieragostini.
“As an art form, watercolour has been practised since antiquity,” says Evans. “Today, we tend to equate Renaissance art with frescoes and altarpieces, but at the time, works in water-based media were actually more prestigious and more expensive than panel paintings. Unfortunately, they’re usually less well-known because they either take the form of highly decorated manuscripts kept in specialist libraries or botanical drawings housed in natural-history collections.”
Highlights of the display include a Hans Holbein portrait of Anne of Cleves, an exquisitely rendered impression of citrus fruits by Jacques Le Moyne de Morgues and Nicholas Hilliard’s charming miniature Young Man Among Roses. “I want to show that these are some of the most spectacular works of the Renaissance period, and to highlight their influence on art history, particularly on the Enlightenment period of the 16th century,” explains Evans.
By bringing together watercolours by some of the most famous artists of the day with more unexpected names, the curators hope to present a unified perspective on the practice’s vital contribution to an age of rapidly advancing artistic and intellectual understanding.
‘Renaissance Watercolours’ is at the V&A from 3 December until 1 May 2022.
