In the Beginning was the Drawing   08.05. – 06.09.2020

In the Beginning was the Drawing: Form and Function since the Renaissance

In general, drawing constitutes the beginning of the artistic process. The sketch is the first visible expression of an artistic idea. Most drawings were not created as autonomous works of art, but were used as designs or to plan greater works in the form of paintings, sculptures, architecture, prints or decorative objects, etc.

The exhibition traces the forms and functions of drawing since the Renaissance. It allows us to observe the creative process and the genesis of a work, starting with the initial sketch of an idea, followed by the design of the composition and detailed studies for templates and final drawings. Enlarged details provide insight into artists’ working methods and their process of creating images. The exhibition brings together both prominent and unknown drawings from the collection of the Department of Prints and Drawings in Bremen and presents around fifty original works from the fifteenth to the twentieth centuries in both Cabinets.

Kunstpause (Art-break = a short explanation of art-works) online: Check out the Kunstpausen for this exhibition on YouTube. (in German only)

Lovis Corinth, Sketch of a goat for the painting „The Childhood of Zeus“, 1905
Charcoal, 25 x 29,2 cm, Kunsthalle Bremen – Der Kunstverein in Bremen, Department of Prints and Drawings

Lovis Corinth, Male Nude with Tambourine and Open Mouth, 1905
Study for the painting The Childhood of Zeus, 1905–1906, graphite pencil on firm drawing paper, with yellowish stains, 51 x 33,9 cm, Kunsthalle Bremen – Der Kunstverein in Bremen, Department of Prints and Drawings

Giovanni Francesco Barbieri, called Il Guercino, Four Putti in Clouds, undatet
Sketchpaper, pen in brown (iron gall ink), 19 x 21,6 cm, Kunsthalle Bremen – Der Kunstverein in Bremen, Department of Prints and Drawings

Paula Modersohn-Becker, Boy and Girl Seated Against Birch Trunks, c. 1898-1900
Illustration design for Stollwerck for chocolate trade cards, Feder in Schwarz (Tusche) über Aquarellfarbe, 10 x 17,1 cm, Kunsthalle Bremen – Der Kunstverein in Bremen, Department of Prints and Drawings

Luise (Louise) Charlotte Kugler, Gentiana (Enzian), 1867
Botanical Study, watercolor and graphite pen, 25,9 x 34,2 cm, Kunsthalle Bremen – Der Kunstverein in Bremen, Department of Prints and Drawings

Albrecht Dürer, Stehende männliche Aktfigur in Vorderansicht, 1513
Proportionsstudie, Feder in Braun, mit Konstruktionslinien und Maßangaben, 28 x 20,6 cm
Kunsthalle Bremen – Der Kunstverein in Bremen, Department of Prints and Drawings

Annibale Carracci, Study from Nature of Arms with Folded Hands, c. 1585-1590
Black and white chalk on bluish paper, 26,8 x 37 cm, Kunsthalle Bremen – Der Kunstverein in Bremen, Department of Prints and Drawings

Karl Iwanowitsch Rossi, Nordfassade des Tverer Schlosses, 1809
Architectureplan, Feder in Grau und Schwarz (Tusche), mit Pinsel grau laviert, aquarelliert, über Vorzeichnung mit schwarzer Kreide, 58 x 149,5 cm, Kunsthalle Bremen – Der Kunstverein in Bremen, Department of Prints and Drawings

Anonym, Germany, 18. century, Portrait of a Lady with a Fan and a green Skirt, c.1760–1770
Portrait drawing, Aquarell und Feder in Schwarz über Vorzeichnung mit Graphit, 17,6 x 12,2 cm, Kunsthalle Bremen – Der Kunstverein in Bremen, Department of Prints and Drawings

Barbara Regina Dietzsch, Silver Pheasant, undatet
Bildhafte Pinselzeichnung, Gouache auf grundiertem Pergament, 35,2 x 27 cm, Kunsthalle Bremen – Der Kunstverein in Bremen, Department of Prints and Drawings

The exhibition is supported by: