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Almost every type of art is preceded by a preliminary drawing: from paintings, wall and ceiling frescos, sculpture, engravings and prints to stained glass windows and gold and silverware. As a result, these drawings display a great richness of different techniques, formats, functions, styles and subjects.
The completed works of art they depict are sometimes not known or have not always survived. But for the careful viewer a drawing can reveal a veritable treasure trove of information.
These preliminary designs bear witness to the creative process of the artist concerned. They show the search for inspiration and the technical preparations from the first collection of ideas and motifs to the outlining of the final design at full size.
The Print Cabinet of Musea Brugge has been the repository for many years of the old master drawings of, amongst others, Frans Floris, Roelandt Savery, Ambrosius Francken, Govert Flinck, Jan van Mieris, Federico Zuccaro, Jacques Callot and Pierre Mignard. These fragile works need to be protected against UV light and cannot normally be viewed. Now they are exceptionally on display in a unique exhibition in the Arentshuis.
Until now, this less well-known collection of Bruges drawings has largely been overlooked by art-historical research. A forthcoming scientific publication will shine new light on fifty of the most fascinating 16th to early 18th century European drawings. It is to mark this scientific publication that the public will now be given an intimate glimpse of these works of art.
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