European Masterpieces between Renaissance and Baroque

The National Museum of Western Art in Tokyo hosts an exhibition dedicated to European drawing between the Renaissance and Baroque, with works from the Nationalmuseum in Stockholm. The exhibition features around 80 drawings selected from one of the most important collections in the world, rarely seen outside of Sweden. The drawings on display, divided into four geographical sections (Italy, France, Germany and the Netherlands), offer an overview of the variety of techniques, functions and styles adopted by artists between the 16th and 17th centuries. The authors include Masters such as Albrecht Dürer, Rembrandt van Rijn, Peter Paul Rubens and others who are less well-known but significant for understanding the evolution of drawing as an autonomous practice and design tool. The exhibition highlights the immediacy and intimacy of drawing, a means that allows us to grasp the creative process and the hand of the artist. The fragility of the materials used makes the public exhibition of these works rare, making this occasion particularly significant for the Japanese and international public. Organized in collaboration with the Nationalmuseum in Stockholm and with the support of cultural institutions and private sponsors, the initiative is part of the cultural exchange program between Japan and Sweden, offering a unique opportunity to deepen one’s knowledge of the European design between the Renaissance and the Baroque.