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A charcoal drawing of a sculptural, nude male torso seen from behind. The figure is heavily shaded and detailed, and fine lines express detailed contours of the body.
Anton Løvenberg, Study after a Plaster Cast of a Male Torso. Gift of Frederick Lovenberg

Drawing Closer

Four Hundred Years of Drawing from the RISD Museum
March 12 - September 4, 2022
A charcoal drawing of a sculptural, nude male torso seen from behind. The figure is heavily shaded and detailed, and fine lines express detailed contours of the body.
Anton Løvenberg, Study after a Plaster Cast of a Male Torso. Gift of Frederick Lovenberg

Introduction

This exhibition invites you to consider what drawings look like, what they were made from, and why they were made. Highlighting the most common drawing materials and techniques employed by European artists from the 1500s through the 1800s, seven sections discuss some of the functions these works served in the artists’ studios and the world beyond. This emphasis on materials and purposes moves beyond chronology or national classifications, encouraging nonlinear explorations of variety of works European artists produced during their first 400 years of drawing on paper the remarkable variety of works European artists produced during their first 400 years of drawing on paper.

The RISD Museum’s collection exists to teach and inspire the next generations of artists and makers, and it continues to be a resource for exploration, critical reflection, and wonder for wider audiences. Drawing Closer is the first step, whether you are encountering these works for the first time or looking at them afresh.

Jamie Gabbarelli

Prince Trust Associate Curator, Art Institute of Chicago

Former Associate Curator of Prints, Drawings, and Photographs, RISD Museum

Jamie Gabbarelli

Exhibition images

Events

Drawing Closer

Four Hundred Years of Drawing from the RISD Museum
March 12 - September 3, 2022
  • Workshops and studios /
  • Hands-on Art

Back to the Drawing Board

Drawing Closer
August 25, 2022 / 5-6:30 pm
  • Workshops and studios /
  • Hands-on Art

Back to the Drawing Board

Drawing Closer
August 18, 2022 / 5-6:30 pm
  • Workshops and studios /
  • Hands-on Art

Back to the Drawing Board

Drawing Closer
August 11, 2022 / 5-6:30 pm
  • Workshops and studios /
  • Hands-on Art

Museum Sketching Session

June 4, 2022 / 1-4 pm
  • Workshops and studios /
  • Open Studio

Open Studios

Drawing Closer & Patterns
April 24, 2022 / 2-4 pm

More Events +

Projects & Publications

Publications

  • Digital Publication

Drawing Closer: Four Hundred Years of Drawing from the RISD Museum

Selected Objects

A black chalk line drawing of a woman in profile. With her head slightly tilted towards the viewer, she stares skeptically at us and wears an elaborate hat.

Henry Fuseli

Head of a Lady
A sketchy brown pen and ink study of an older, dapper gentlemen surrounded by a mass of ill-defined bowing supplicants. The image is overlaid with a grid, presumably for transfer.

James Gillray

Study for An Old English Gentleman Pester’d by Servants Wanting Places
A muted painting of Saint Paul standing on an alter with his arms extended wide open in a moment of exaltation, dramatized by fine lines of black ink and watercolor.

William Blake

St. Paul Preaching at Athens
A reed pen and black ink drawing of the interior of a tavern in Pompeii. A figure peers in the doorway at the ruins of the stone vats and bar.

Giovanni Battista Piranesi

Interior of a Tavern in Pompeii
A red chalk portrait of the painter Giuseppe Amedeo Aliberti in red chalk wearing a tri-corner hat. He is standing with his right side facing the viewer, paintbrush in hand. The Italian text at the bottom reads: “Giuseppe Amedeo Aliberti Pinore Studente in Bologna al Servizio di Sua Maestrà Carlo Emanuele Rè di Sardigna, Duca di Savoia Principe di Piamonte dellineata da Monsieur Bonchardon Seultore di S.M. Christianisima rel suo Pasazzio chef ecce per Bologna di Aitorne da Roma à Earigi dimendato dal suo Rà.”

Edme Bouchardon

Portrait of the Painter Giuseppe Amedeo Aliberti
A brown ink and wash depicting three female allegories. From left to right: Charity breastfeeding an infant, Justice holding a sword, and Prudence pointing to a mirror.

Elisabetta Sirani

Study for Allegory of Justice Charity, and Prudence

Jan van Goyen

A Village Street with Peasants
A watercolor and ink painting of a violet and yellow sunset over India’s Ganges River. A dome topped building sits atop the bank, with figures bathing in the river below.

George Chinnery

Sunset on the Ganges
  • More objects +
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