German and Swiss masters of drawing

Renaissance Drawings from Germany and Switzerland, 1470–1600, an exhibition that explores vibrant masterpieces of the German Renaissance, is on view at the J. Paul Getty Museum, Getty Center (USA), through June 17, 2012.

The 43 objects have been selected from the Getty Museum’s celebrated permanent collection of drawings, and they illuminate an age that elevated draftsmanship to new heights of achievement.

The Renaissance in German-speaking lands, which included present-day Germany, Switzerland and parts of France, was one of the greatest periods in the history of northern European drawing. The exhibition includes masterpieces by masters such as Albrecht Dürer, Hans Holbein the Younger, Martin Schongauer and Lucas Cranach the Elder.

As a young artist, Dürer traveled to Italy on a quest to absorb the art of the Italian Renaissance. Accordingly, he was the first German artist to master human anatomy and the depiction of the nude figure. In The Good Thief, he applies these lessons to render convincingly both the weight of the thief’s body on the cross and the musculature of his nude body through rhythmic clusters of cross hatched lines.

Date: until June 17.
Location : 1200 Getty Center Drive, Suite 403. Los Angeles, California, USA.
Opening hours: Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Sunday from 10am to 5.30pm.  Saturday from 10am to 9pm