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Getty Museum Drawings Department

Almost all the great artists of the past—painters, sculptors, printmakers, architects—employed drawing as an integral part of their creative process. Using it to explore rough ideas, to study nature and the human figure, and also as an end in itself, artists created works on paper of extraordinary power and immediacy. The Getty Museum’s collection of drawings began with the purchase of a single work by Rembrandt in 1981 and has grown to over 900 drawings and pastels from the 15th to the 19th centuries. From spontaneous sketches to carefully crafted compositions, these compelling sheets demonstrate an array of techniques, materials, and uses, revealing the multifaceted and dynamic nature of the practice and its central role in artistic endeavor.

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The J. Paul Getty Museum, 1200 Getty Center Drive, Los Angeles, CA 90049
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The Drawings Department Study Room

Drawings and pastels are fragile and susceptible to damage by overexposure to light, and therefore works from the collection are displayed on a rotating basis in thematic exhibitions at the Getty Museum and in national and international loan exhibitions. Drawings not currently on display can be viewed online or seen by appointment in the Drawings Department study room.

 

To apply for an appointment to visit the study room download the application form at the very bottom of the Drawing Department page on the Getty website.

 

Images: (At top right) Michelangelo Buonarroti (Italian, 1475 – 1564), Study of a Mourning Woman, c. 1500-05. Pen and brown ink, heightened with white lead opaque watercolor, 26 x 16.5 cm (10 ¼ x 6 ½ in.). The J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles.

 

(Above) Attributed to Robert-Jacques Lefevre (French, 1755 – 1830), Portrait of an Artist in his Studio, about 1800. Fabricated black chalk, 73 x 54 cm (28 ¾ x 21 ¼ in.). The J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles, Purchased with funds provided by the Disegno Group, 2022.93

Upcoming Events

Past Events

Events
Call for Papers: Drawn to Blue
Online (Zoom Webinar)
July 31, 2024 12:00 am
Events
The Decorated Page: The Arts of the Book in the Persian World
Getty Center
February 25, 2024 2:00 pm
Events, Recordings
Panel Discussion: Drawn to Blue Paper
Institute of Fine Arts, New York University
January 30, 2024 1:30 pm

Affiliation Groups and Organisations

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Exhibitions

January 1, 12AM UTC
Trois Crayons – TRACING TIME
Frieze – No. 9 Cork Street, London, W1S 3LL, United Kingdom
Tracing Time is the second annual exhibition hosted by Trois Crayons, an innovative platform which aims to increase the awareness, accessibility and visibility of drawings in all their forms. The exhibition will
January 1, 12AM UTC
Exhibition Tour – Hilma af Klint: What Stands Behind the Flowers
11 West 53 Street, New York, NY, 10019, United States

Join us for an intimate early hours tour of the stunning exhibition of botanical watercolors by Hilma af Klint (1862-1944). The tour will be led by Jodi Hauptman, The Richard […]

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