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 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
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Exhibitions
Exhibition Tour of Viollet-le-Duc Drawing Worlds
Join co-curator Martin Bressani for a private tour of Viollet-le-Duc Drawing Worlds, on view at the Bard Graduate Center Gallery from January 28 to May 24, 2026. This is the […]
Drawing out the Gothic: Curator Conversation
Join us for a discussion about the gothic and Gothic architectural drawings as we enter the final week of one exhibition (Viollet-le-Duc Drawing Worlds) and the early weeks of another […]