Italian Drawings and Italian Etchings @ The Fitz

JESS MIDDLETON-PUGH enjoys these exhibitions at The Fitz, but admits that they may, possibly, be a little boring.

Art art exhibition caravaggio italian drawings italian etchings jess middleton-pugh leonardo da vinci Michelangelo Raphael the fitzwilliam museum

The Fitzwilliam Museum

Italian Drawings: Highlights from the Collection, 8th March-10th July

Italian Etchings: The Draughtsman’s Print, 22nd February -29th August

You may know the names of a few of the artists included in the Italian Drawings exhibition currently showing at The Fitz: Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo, Raphael, or even Caravaggio. You may not know the mass of names exhibited alongside them (unless, like me, you are reaching the end of your ‘looking at pictures and talking about them’ degree, but even then you may draw a loss).

But, whether the artists are well known stars of the Renaissance, or their lowlier cousins, it is difficult to deny that the drawings displayed showcase an extreme level of skill. So, if you’re a draughtsman, expect to have your ego knocked down a peg or two.

What’s really nice about The Fitz is that, unlike other museums who thrust their most valuable acquisitions in the face of the viewer like a WAG with a new nose, this exhibition subtly mixes the Big Names in amongst other drawings of equal standard but lesser fame. This encourages the visitor to admire not only how well Da Vinci draws horses (he really does), but also the creative flair of Bartolomeo di David, whose imaginary grotesque is rather bizarre, and adds a flash of colour amidst the greys and blacks of the other drawings.

Moreover, this exhibition does not intend to teach the public about art. We are not saturated with technical or biographical details, but are granted the permission to merely browse at leisure; to absorb what the drawings look like, rather than what they are about.

Where art is concerned, you can’t really criticise the Italians – the same goes for pizza. But, as we all know, being served the same pizza over and over again becomes monotonous. Similarly, the problem with an exhibition like this is that it is hard to describe it in interesting terms to someone who may want to enjoy art for pleasure, rather than as the subject of their latest essay. There are inevitably lots of drawings of Saints. There are lots of drawings of stories from the Bible. Yes, all of them are good drawings. But, after a while, they all begin to blur into one.

Luckily, this is not the case with the Italian Etchings exhibition (deceptively, this does not display drawings). Again, the level of skill on display is amazing, and if you’ve somehow managed to develop an unhealthy fondness for cross-hatching; welcome to your wet dream. This becomes all the more impressive when you consider that the prints are made using a process which involves using just a metal pen, wax, and copper. It is in a much smaller room than the drawings, so popping your head around the corner (just to check that the Italians are as good at printing as they are at drawing) may suffice.

As an Art Historian, it pains me to say this, but these exhibitions may, possibly, be a little bit boring. If you happen to be within a one mile radius of the museum, it’s probably worth a visit, but don’t cycle from Girton for it. However, if you are in the vicinity, and fancy a revision break browsing within the calm and austere interior of The Fitz, absorbing images which are pretty and bear no relation to the rest of your life, then enjoy.