In the Workshop of a Netherlandish Master. Dutch and Flemish Drawings from the Collection of the Nat

Ars Graphica Polska was invited to participate in the curatorial walk-through of the exhibition "In the Workshop of a Netherlandish Master. Dutch and Flemish Drawings from the Collection of the National Museum in Warsaw". Our group was warmly welcomed and guided by Piotr Borusowski. The central theme of the exhibition is the place of drawings in the workshop practices of the 16th - 18th centuries. We saw works by artists such as Pieter (I) Coecke van Aelst, Maerten de Vos, Lodewijk Toeput, Jacques (II) de Gheyn, Pieter (II) Stevens, Peter Paul Rubens, Theodoor van Thulden, Jan van Noordt and Ferdinand Bol. Many drawings are exhibited and published in the catalogue for the first time.

The main subject of our meeting were the manifold functions of drawings. We discussed techniques as well as questions that arise when determining the functions of drawings. Piotr Borusowski gave us an inspiring insight into his research and illustrated it with fascinating case studies.

In the final section of the exhibition, we could compare paintings' compositions with to-scale IR photographs, showing the underdrawings. A number of 16th-century Netherlandish paintings from the collection of the National Museum have been analysed using infrared photography and three examples were shown to the public.

The exhibition is accompanied by a richly illustrated Polish-English catalogue edited by prof. Antoni Ziemba, which includes notes on every object and short essays by Aleksandra Janiszewska and Piotr Borusowski.

Ars Graphica Polska would like to congratulate Piotr Borusowski and Aleksandra Janiszewska on the excellent and thought-provoking exhibition. We strongly recommend visiting the National Museum in Warsaw, whilst the exhibition is still on view.

In the Workshop of a Netherlandish Master. Dutch and Flemish Drawings from the Collection of the National Museum in Warsaw

17th May – 20th August 2017

Curators: Piotr Borusowski, Aleksandra Janiszewska

National Museum in Warsaw