Raphael: Renaissance Drawings and Prints from the Museum of Fine Arts in Budapest

14th November 2013 - 16th February 2014
www.szepmuveszeti.hu

Raphael, the youngest of the famous Renaissance triad including Leonardo and Michelangelo, made an exceptionally deep impression on Italian art. Despite his career spanned barely two decades, no artist remained untouched by his influence. In his highly organized and prolific workshop many gifted young artists, protagonists of the next generation worked under Raphael’s supervision, such as Giulio Romano, Perino del Vaga, Polidoro da Caravaggio and Giovanni da Udine. Raphael was among the first to recognize the advantages of reproducing his compositions in print. Collaborating with the most eminent Roman engravers, above all Marcantonio Raimondi, he conducted a very successful undertaking which marks the birth of print publishing business in Rome.

The Museum of Fine Arts in Budapest preserves six drawings by Raphael and numerous sheets by his pupils. The collection also includes almost each significant print made in close collaboration with Raphael. The nearly eighty masterpieces in the exhibition and the accompanying catalogue demonstrate Raphael’s genius and illustrate the next generation’s relation to his unparalleled artistic legacy.

Curators of the exhibition and authors of the catalogue are Zoltán Kárpáti and Eszter Seres.