This exhibition offers a rare opportunity to view outstanding examples of European drawings spanning some 500 years, from the Italian Renaissance to late nineteenth-century France. It consists of 120 drawings, watercolours and pastels by many of the greatest names in Western art acquired over the past twenty years by Swiss collector Jean Bonna. Works on show include those by Old Masters such as Raphael, Andrea del Sarto, Rembrandt, Claude Lorrain, Canaletto and, from the nineteenth century, Ingres, Degas, Manet, Renoir, Cézanne and Gauguin.
Highlights include Raphael's Study of Soldiers, Parmigianino's The Holy Family with Shepherds and Angels, an exquisite watercolour of a Wild Boar Piglet by Hans Hoffmann, an atmospheric Woman in a White Bonnet by George Seurat, and Odilon Redon's vibrant pastel, La Barque. By coincidence, major drawings by Watteau and Gauguin are preparatory for paintings in the Gallery's permanent collection.
The show has been organised in collaboration with the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, where it was shown earlier this year. The National Gallery Complex in Edinburgh will be the only European venue.
