Wed 10 Feb, 2021
This focused international loan exhibition, the first dedicated to the drawings of Antoine Caron, brings together a celebrated group of drawings executed by Caron (1521-1599) for his patron Queen Catherine de’ Medici of France (1519-1589).
Concentrated around the Valois series, a set of drawings of courtly pageantry here reunited for the first time, the display will showcase the way in which the powerful and influential Catherine promoted herself and her dynasty through a series of lavish courtly events.
Created as preparatory designs for tapestries, the drawings capture in minute detail jousts, tournaments, festivals and a mock naval battle that were presented at the French court between 1573 and 1581, during the reigns of Catherine’s sons, Charles IX and Henri III.
The Friends are offered a guided tour of this new exhibition by the curator of this exhibition, Dr. Ketty Gottardo, Curator of Drawings.