Poetry of Drawing coming to Australia

THE Art Gallery of New South Wales will soon play host to the Pre-Raphaelite exhibition The Poetry of Drawing, which is currently showing at the Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery in the UK.

Considered to be the most comprehensive body of Pre-Raphaelite drawing and watercolours ever exhibited, this much acclaimed show is in Sydney from June 18 until September 4.

The Art Gallery of New South Wales houses its own impressive collection of important Pre-Raphaelite and High Victorian pieces such as Ford Madox Brown’s masterpiece, Chaucer at the Court of Edward III.

The Poetry of Drawing assembles works from Birmingham’s exhaustive collection of Pre-Raphaelite and late 19th century art, as well as loans from public and private lenders. Some of the works on display have rarely been seen and some are being exhibited for the first time.

The Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood revolutionised British art in the mid 19th century. Led by William Holman Hunt, John Everett Millais, and Gabriel Dante Rossetti, this radical group of young poets, artists and critics challenged the established art doctrines of their time. Their influence led to the emergence of movements such as aestheticism, symbolism and art nouveau.

The Poetry of Drawing examines the importance of drawing to the work of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood. Drawing and watercolour practices played a vital role in the training of the Pre-Raphaelite artists and assisted in the development of their theories of naturalism and their promotion of radical new subject matter.

Included in the exhibition are watercolours, drawings (in pen, ink and pencil), paintings, stained glass, textiles and ceramics. The works are exhibited alongside the original working sketches and designs of the artists.

In addition to these preparatory drawings, the exhibition also includes portraits and sketches that the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood created of each other and presented to each other as gifts. It’s an interesting insight into the relationships between the artists of the group.

The Poetry of Drawing features works by all the central figures of the movement. As well as the original members of the Brotherhood, the exhibition includes works from the ‘second generation’ of Pre-Raphaelites, such as Edward Burne-Jones, Frederick Sandys and Simeon Solomon. Also on display are works by later artists who were heavily influenced by the Pre-Raphaelites, such as Aubrey Beardsley.

The exhibition offers the chance to see never-before-exhibited watercolours and drawings by Rossetti, Holman Hunt, Burne-Jones and Arthur Hughes. The Poetry of Drawing allows the audience the rare opportunity of comparing the artists working designs and drafts against the finished pieces. It provides an insight into the creation of these famous works and highlights the importance of drawing to the theories and practices of Pre-Raphaelite art.

The Poetry of Drawing opens in Sydney on June 18. General admission for adults is $10. Find out more at Art Gallery NSW.