Mirror Mirror: Old Masters Drawing Cabinet

Chatsworth is home to a large collection of old master drawings. This year, we are sharing a selection to complement Mirror Mirror: Reflections on Design at Chatsworth.

Sometimes artists draw for pleasure. Sometimes, it is a critical part of the creative process – developing ideas, solving problems, or preparing for larger painted works. What you see here are drawings that show the thinking required to imagine an object as a different material entirely.

Take a close look at Giulio Romano’s drawings. The natural world is translated into functional design. A tortoise becomes a lidded box; a nest of vine leaves is transformed into a fruit bowl.

Take a close look at William Kent’s drawing. Nature and artifice combine in functional design. A spiral of petals and leaves rests between the angular horizontal plane of his design for a doorframe.

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Painted Hall

Maker Bench (Hexagon) prototype, 2018
oak, walnut

Maker Bench (Hexagon) 2018
oak, walnut

Joris Laarman (b.1979), The Netherlands

Grotto

Cryo III, 2022
Steel, wood polystyrene, polyurea, aluminium foil, resin, suede, onyx

Concretion (edition 3/8), 2021
Aluminium

Chris Schanck (b. 1975), USA

The Chapel

Pew Bench/Moon (edition 2 of 8), 2016
Spoon Chair / Moon (edition 1 of 8), 2016
Spoon Chair / Moon (prototype), 2016
all sand-cast bronze, silver nitrate

Lode II (edition 1 of 8), 2021
Trove I, 2022
Trove II, 2022
Plot II (Prototype), 2022
all hand-carved Purbeck marble

Faye Toogood (b.1977), UK

The Oak Room

Hoard of Oak Hill, 2022
hand-carved oak

Hoard I, 2022
hand-carved bog oak

Hoard II, 2022
hand-carved bog oak

Faye Toogood (b. 1977), UK

Chapel Corridor

Rhythms Vase, 2014
white stoneware clay, with stained highlights

Ingxondorha (Volatile Rocky Terrain), 2022
Umthombo (Spring), 2022
Umgodi (A Mine), 2022
Amaza (Waves), 2022
Isiziba (A Pool), 2022
glazed, hand-coiled stoneware

Cornish Waterfall, 2019
stoneware

Andile Dyalvane (b. 1978)

Great Chamber

Vase no. 7, 2006
glass and rope

Vase no. 16, 2006
glass and patinated aluminium wire

Xiangzheng, 1999
glass polished and oxidised aluminium wire

Vase no. 4, 2006
glass and rope

Lingam, 1999
Lingam, 1999
Lingam, 1999
glass

Ettore Sottsass (1917–2007), Italy

Green Satin Drawing Room

Water Filter, Stalagmite, 2012
Water Filter, Stalactite, 2012
Water Filter, Funnel, 2012
Water Filter, Funnel 2012
Water Filter, Tongue 2012
all carbonised oak, mouth-blown glass, copper

Water Filter, Spoon, 2012
carbonised oak, mouth-blown glass

Glass bottle, 2012
carbonised oak log, mouth-blown glass

FormaFantasma (founded 2009), Italy