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The exhibition that can be seen up to 12 June in the Uffizi Gallery
on the floor and in the Prints and Drawings Room and also in the Reali Poste, again in the Vasari complex, is a truly extraordinary event
An exhibition addressing graphics from the end of the fourteenth century right through the fifteenth and up to the early sixteenth century
showcasing a peerless line-up made possible by the vast collections of the Uffizi
and fifty drawings loaned by the British Museum which, with us
has the most important collection in the world of these rare folios
These are extremely precious, fragile materials that never leave their repositories
They are evidence of the creativity, the ingenuity and the touch of artists such as Beato Angelico
such as – to mention only the most greatest– Raphael, Leonardo and Michelangelo, taking in Pollaiolo and Verrocchio on the way
and all the wonderful artists of the Florentine and Italian Renaissance
The great northern masters are also represented: Pisanello and Mantegna
with extraordinary drawings that in many cases already have the character of the finished work
Drawing is a single word, but it comprises numerous concepts
that of the sketch that bodies out a passing thought or an initial idea
the compositional design that develops the subject for a future painting or fresco
the sketch that serves as a record of what has already been done
to be kept in the workshop for subsequent elaborations and finally
what we sometimes define as ‘presentation’ drawings, gifts made to friends or commissioners
which are considered works of art in their own right
The collecting of drawings began very early in Florence
at the height of the seventeenth century under Cardinal Leopoldo, and since then it has never ceased
which is why the collection of the Prints and Drawings Department is one of the greatest in the world