Featuring fascinating drawings and exceptional prints from the late 15th century though the mid-19th century by artists such as Albrecht Dürer, Parmigianino, Rembrandt, Peter Paul Rubens, Maria Sibylla Merian, Francisco Goya, and William Blake, the exhibition explores the creative exchange between the two practices by showcasing preparatory drawings for prints, printed imitations of drawings, and drawn copies of prints. A selection of hybrid works also questions traditional definitions, strict boundaries, and outdated hierarchical distinctions between media.
Mars and Venus Surprised by Vulcan, about 1585
Hendrick Goltzius
J. Paul Getty Museum, 84.GG.810.1
Mars and Venus Surprised by Vulcan, 1585
Hendrick Goltzius
The Art Institute of Chicago, Charles Hack and the Hearn Family Trust Collection, purchased with funds provided by the Harry B. and Bessie K. Braude Memorial, Amanda S. Johnson and Marion J. Livingston, anonymous, and Suzanne Searle Dixon endowment funds
Among the many remarkable loans enriching the exhibition are two astonishing drawings of a right hand by Hendrick Goltzius, which will be shown alongside each other for the first time in over a generation. Additionally an impressive drawing by Rembrandt of Leonardo da Vinci’s Last Supper makes its Chicago debut.
Self-Portrait in a Fur Cap, 1765/68
Joseph Wright of Derby
The Art Institute of Chicago, Clarence Buckingham Collection
Metamorphosis of a Small Emperor Moth, 1679
Maria Sibylla Merian
J. Paul Getty Museum, 2020.10
The Creation of Adam, about 1645/50
Giovanni Benedetto Castiglione
The Art Institute of Chicago, gift of an anonymous donor; purchased with funds provided by Dr. William D. and Sara R. Shorey, and Mr. and Mrs. George B. Young
With a wealth of exceptionally beautiful works, Lines of Connection offers fresh perspectives on two intertwined mediums and lifts the curtain on the rarely foregrounded subjects of artistic training, workshop practices, and the afterlife and collecting of works on paper.
Lines of Connection: Drawing and Printmaking is co-organized by the Art Institute of Chicago and the J. Paul Getty Museum. The exhibition is curated by Jamie Gabbarelli, Prince Trust Associate Curator, Prints and Drawings.
Sponsors
Major support for Lines of Connection: Drawing and Printmaking, 1400–1850 is provided by the WOLFGANG RATJEN FOUNDATION, Liechtenstein.
Additional support is contributed by an anonymous donor.
