Drawings by the Carracci

Annibale (1560-1609) and Agostino Carricci (1557-1602), together with their cousin, Ludovico (1555-1619), were famous in the 17th and 18th centuries as the saviours of art. Critical opinion held that the three painters had changed the course of art history with their insistence on the study of nature and their embracing of the values seen in the art of Raphael and Corregio. In the 35 years since the exhibition of drawings by the Carracci from British collections held at Newcastle in 1961, much scholarly work has been done on the Carracci, and on their drawings in particular. The majority of the literature is concerned with the nature of the Carracci academy and with the critical fortunes of the three artists. The book aims to provide a critical study of the drawings which should be of interest to scholars and the general public. Questions of attribution, and trends in critical debates are explored. The overall focus is on major issues: the complex question of collaboration, and the cross-fertilization of ideas between the three artists; the central importance of life drawings; the inventiveness of Annibale in particular; and the creative graphic explorations of all three Carracci in drawings and prints, and the wit and playfulness which runs through so many sheets. The book also includes an essay by Dr Catherine Whistler on the taste for Carracci drawings in Britain.