Video: Nottingham Castle’s exhibitions manager Deborah Dean speaks about the gallery
Ten drawings from Leonardo da Vinci will be shown in a new art exhibition at Nottingham Castle.
One of the most recognised artists in history, ten da Vinci drawings out of nearly 600 will be exhibited courtesy of the Royal Collection Trust.
It is the first time ever the castle has shown original work from da Vinci with the gallery open to the public on Saturday (July 30) until Sunday October 9.
The sketch of St Anne caught the eye of Nottingham Castle’s visual arts collections and exhibitions manager Deborah Dean.
She said: “It’s a very beautiful sketch; for me it’s the most recognisable Leonardo drawing.
“Having seen them, you get the feeling that Leonardo created them yesterday; it’s quite incredible how well they have been preserved.
“They’ve been selected to show da Vinci’s wide range of interests and his expertise in arts making and we can’t wait for them to be exhibited.”
Artists try out ideas and sketch bits and pieces before building larger works
The exhibition was made possible thanks to a phone call out of the blue from the Royal Collection Trust.
She said: “I had the call from the head of exhibitions at the Royal Collection asking if we would be interested in showing these drawings and, of course, we said yes!
“All of the drawings are so varied but it’s how artists work; they try out ideas and sketch certain bits and pieces that will then build together into a larger work.
“Because the drawings are fragile and cannot be exposed to light for long periods of time, that’s partly why the Royal Collection only tour ten works at a time.”
