Unseen Old Master Drawings Confirmed for Chatsworth

Date: 25th June 2012

Twelve of the finest Old Master Drawings from the Devonshire Collection, considered the greatest historic family collection after the Royal Collection at Windsor due to its scope and quality, have been confirmed for display in 'World Class: Masterpieces from the Devonshire Collection'. (See notes to editors for details of press launch)

For the first time in more than 100 years (see notes to editors) Old Master Drawings from the collection will go on public display at Chatsworth in a new, purpose built Old Master Drawings Cabinet. Selected from more than 3000 works from both Italian and Northern Schools, the exhibition includes many of its greatest works and will run from 1 July to 9 November 2012.

Confirmed for the exhibition:

Giovanni Francesco Barbieri, called Il Guercino, A river in flood, and peasants with axes and other tools
Brueghel the Elder, View of the Ripa Grande
Annibale Carracci, A hunchback boy
Dürer, Madonna and Child
Leonardo da Vinci, Leda and the Swan (picture and see notes to editors)
Claude Gellée, called Claude le Lorrain, Landscape with Christ Preaching the Sermon on the Mount
Jan Gossaert, called Mabuse, Adam and Eve
Raphael, Seated woman reading with child (picture and see notes to editors)
Rembrandt, An Actor in His Dressing Room
Rubens, A Peasant Girl Churning Butter
Titian, Landscape: a rider-less horse pursued by a serpent
Van Dyck, Pieter Brueghel the Younger

Visitors will walk through the most lavish, important rooms in the House (the 1st Duke's State Apartment) to find themselves in a jewel-like collector's cabinet with the Old Master Drawings on display at eye-level.

Wall fabric selected by the Duchess with interior designer David Mlinaric will be hung with upper tiers of gilt-framed botanical drawings dating from the 1500s. To complement the drawings, Rembrandt's 'King Uzziah' will hang above a Florentine pietra dura cabinet. A French Boulle marquetry cabinet housing ivories and Limoges enamels, which have been specially conserved, completes the display. The creation of a room with the correct lighting, environment and security will enable the Old Master Drawings to be shared with visitors on a regular basis.

The Old Master Drawings on show from 1 July will start a rolling exhibition drawn from more than 3000 works with each displayed for a limited time before it 'goes dark' (into store) for 3-6 years during which time it cannot be displayed.

The drawings were previously kept in albums at Devonshire House in London until the 19th century when the 6th Duke of Devonshire brought many of the family's finest works of Art to Chatsworth. He removed several hundred from their albums to frame them but the display was dismantled in 1906 to prevent deterioration caused by light and environmental conditions and the drawings were put into storage.

The collection began with the acquisition in the 1680s of 14 landscapes by Guercino by the 1st Duke of Devonshire. The 2nd Duke was the principal collector and most of the drawings have been in the family since the 1720s.

- Ends -

Notes to Editors:

1. Press Launch: Chatsworth, Thursday 5 July, 9.45 for 10am; viewing 10-12 noon with Duke and Duchess of Devonshire and Matthew Hirst, Head of Art and Historic Collections; refreshments 12-2pm. Chatsworth is providing return transport for journalists travelling by train from London St Pancras (2 hours). Please contact Stephanie Cliffe (01246 565300) at Chatsworth by Monday 25 June to order tickets. Return transport will be provided from Chesterfield station.
2. Display: The last display from the Collection at Chatsworth was in 1906 after which it was dismantled and put into storage to prevent deterioration. Some drawings have been exhibited for short periods over the past 100 years (often outside the UK) but exhibition history is highly uncertain including for those in this new display. It is probable that some have not been seen in public anywhere during the past 100 years but, for example, the da Vinci was part of an exhibition in London the early 90's - the last time we are aware of any of these drawings have been on public display.

3. Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519), Leda and the Swan, circa 1503-1504
In this drawing, Leda, wife of the King of Sparta, is shown with the god Jupiter who has taken the form of a swan to seduce her. Helen (later Helen of Troy), Clytemnestra, and Castor and Pollux are seen hatching from the eggs at Leda's feet.

The skill and originality that separates Leonardo from his contemporaries is evident in this drawing. He uses curving, hatched lines to depict Leda's body, which feels utterly three-dimensional. Leonardo directs our eye through the narrative: the swan leans towards Leda, whose hand gestures to their children, hatching from eggs in the plants at her feet. His spiraling pen strokes create added movement, as the writhing newborns emerge, providing a dynamic sense of energy in the drawing.

Historical note: The drawing was lent to an exhibition in Milan shortly before World War Two broke out in 1939. The 10th Duke was reluctant but followed George VI's lead, who lent works from the Royal Collection.

When the exhibition closed, return transport was considered too risky and with Italy a neutral power at that point, the drawing remained there. After much political wrangling, the drawing was stored in the underground vaults of the Castello Sforzesco. Seven years later the drawing returned to Chatsworth - intact apart from the white spot on Leda's stomach.

4. Raphael (1483-1520), Seated woman reading with child, circa 1512-14,
There are a number of drawings by Raphael in the Collection, however none capture the naturalness and intimacy of this study. The woman and child are in contemporary dress yet their pose captures a scene instantly recognisable today. The woman tries unsuccessfully to encourage the child to read yet he is distracted. Her arm supports yet gently restrains the child, who twists away from the book he has lost interest in.

We are in no doubt that they are real people the artist has observed. They could be mother and child or a servant with her young charge. Raphael conveys their relationship through the child's pose: he leans trustingly into her body, crossing his feet in a relaxed manner, while she supports him. Yet in Raphael's hands they become something greater. By portraying the child looking out of the drawing, the artist engages and involves us in the scene. Suddenly they are emblematic of the innocent acceptance of a child in the security offered by those who care for them.

5. The Chatsworth House Trust
An independent charity (no 511149) set up by the 11th Duke of Devonshire in 1981, to ensure the long-term survival of Chatsworth for the benefit of the public. All admission and event income from visitors, together with a percentage of income from shops and restaurants, goes directly to this Trust, and can only be spent on the upkeep and improvement of the house, collections, garden, farmyard and park.

Chatsworth is 16 miles from the MI, 10 miles from Chesterfield, and 8 miles north of Matlock, in the heart of Derbyshire's Peak District National Park and is well served by transport links throughout the UK. www.chatsworth.org

For further information or images please contact:
Steve Houghton (steveh@redbrickcommunications.com)
Liz Bee (lizb@redbrickcommunications.com)
Redbrick Communications, 68 St James's Street, Nottingham, NG1 6FJ
T: 0115 910 1500, www.redbrickcommunications.com

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