Five centuries of sketches by masters
Journalists gathered at the Met on an especially crowded Monday morning for an opening of the exhibit, “Leonardo to Matisse: Master Drawings from the Robert Lehman Collection.”
The exhibition features 60 old master drawings by artists including Leonardo, Dürer, Rembrandt, Seurat, Matisse, Degas, and others; the featured selection is merely a portion of Lehman’s extensive art collection. Lehman bought his first drawings in the 1920s, expanding an art collection begun by his father in 1911. By his death in 1969, the drawings collection alone amounted to more than seven hundred sheets.
Dita Amory, curator in charge, and Alison Nogueira, Associate Curator, led a short tour around the gallery introducing some of the most revolutionary, influential drawings. One of which is a self-portrait sketch by the German Renaissance painter Albrecht Düer, in which he portrays himself with arresting directness. Like many of his other self-portraits, the artist has emphasized his eyes and hand, asserting his identity as an artist.
The selection reflects an elevation in the medium between the fifteenth and twentieth centuries—as styles, techniques, and genres evolved, evoking illuminating comparisons across regions and eras. Subjects range from portraits to objects, in media ranging from metalpoint, pen and ink, and chalk to graphite, pastel and charcoal.
The exhibition is now open to the public at The Met Fifth Avenue till January 7th.
