Holbein to Hockney

18 April 2005

Holbein to Hockney: Drawings from the Royal Collection opening at Te Papa

The exhibition Holbein to Hockney: Drawings from the Royal Collection goes on display at Te Papa from 23 April to 24 July 2005.

Holbein to Hockney offers a unique opportunity not only to encounter extraordinary art but also to engage with the creative processes of some of the world’s great artists, including masters such as Leonardo, Michelangelo, Raphael, Dûrer, Poussin, Bernini, Domenichino, Canaletto, and Hogarth.

Other treasures include Hans Holbein’s chalk studies of Sir Thomas More and Cicely Heron, which are preparatory works for Holbein’s lost portrait of More and his family. One of the most recent additions to the collection is a pencil portrait of Lord Rothschild by David Hockney, which entered the Royal Collection in 2003.

Since 1547, British kings and queens have bought or commissioned some 40,000 drawings and watercolours for the Royal Collection, forming one of the world’s greatest collections of drawings. Holbein to Hockney offers a unique introduction to the collection and a rare showing of the riches of art housed in the Royal Library at Windsor Castle.

The exhibition presents a selection of seventy-six works, ranging from quick sketches to finished presentations. They include almost every type of drawing practised in European art over the last 500 years and represent every important group within the collection.

Te Papa is the only venue for the exhibition outside Great Britain. After the exhibition closes at Te Papa, it will be shown in The Queen’s Gallery at Buckingham Place.

Highlights of the events programme to complement the exhibition include an exhibition tour and public lecture by Martin Clayton, curator from the Royal Collection.

Visitors to the Holbein to Hockney exhibition can enter the competition to win a trip for two to Windsor Castle!

Holbein to Hockney: Drawings from the Royal Collection Saturday 23 April to Sunday 24 July 2005 Tower Gallery, Level 4. Exhibition admission charges apply. Holbein to Hockney - And All Points in Between Martin Clayton, curator from the Royal Collection, will give a tour of the exhibition, showing the uses of drawing since the Renaissance. Saturday 23 April 2005 2.30pm - 3.15pm Tower Gallery, Level 4 Exhibition admission charges apply.

Holbein to Hockney: How the Royal Collection of Drawings and Watercolours Was Formed Hear Martin Clayton, curator from the Royal Collection, discuss the collection and how it has developed its unique character over the past five hundred years. Saturday 23 April 2005 1.00pm - 2.00pm Soundings Theatre, Level 2 Free entry.

ENDS

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