Drawings

COLLECTION HIGHLIGHTS

ABOUT THE COLLECTION

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 1,000 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.

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 (see details below). testing here

CONTACT INFO

drawings@getty.edu

RECENT ACQUISITIONS

NEWS & STORIES

Drawing in watercolor, pen, and brown ink depicting skaters, colf player, and sleighs on a frozen river with a shipwreck to the right

Witnessing Winter with Hendrick Avercamp, the ‘Mute from Kampen’

It’s time to re-frame assumptions about this ‘Little Ice Age’ painter.

Read more posts about drawings

CURRENTFUTURE EXHIBITIONS

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SCHOLARLY ESSAYS

Renaissance drawing of several people sitting around a banquet table

Explore in-depth scholarly essays on select drawings from our collection.

Wedding Feast at Cana by Lavinia Fontana

FEATURED VIDEO

GOOGLE ARTS & CULTURE

Drawing of a nude mand and woman reclining on a bed with nude angels above and cupids below
Traditional Transfer Techniques in Western European Art

In European draftsmanship, some drawings were working drawings, playing specific roles in the making of other works of art. When an artist’s design was complete, it was transferred from the paper to another surface using one of several possible techniques: pricking and pouncing, tracing, squaring, and incising.

Explore techniques used to copy original works of art and follow the tutorials to try them yourself

 Portrait of white male in 1700s dress wearing a white, curled wig and red robes while he holds and open book
Pastels in Pieces

When 18th-century pastellists competed with oil painters for portrait commissions, they faced a challenge: to create pastels on paper as large as paintings on canvas, they had to join together multiple sheets.

See how artists pieced together large-scale portraiture in this exhibit on Google Arts & Culture

Crop of watercolor in brown tones of Moses overlooking the sea with a glowing orange sun and pyramids in the distance.
The Destruction of Pharaoh's Host

Executed in 1836, this large-scale watercolor is a prime example of the English artist John Martin's (1789–1854) highly dramatic narrative compositions.

Take an in-depth look at The Destruction of Pharaoh's Host on Google Arts & Culture



CURATORIAL STAFF

Julian Brooks

Senior Curator / Department Head

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Edina Adam

Assistant Curator

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Danielle Canter

Assistant Curator

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Casey Lee

Curatorial Assistant

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Stephanie Schrader

Curator

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Julian Brooks

Senior Curator / Department Head

Bio +
Edina Adam

Assistant Curator

Bio +

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Danielle Canter

Assistant Curator

Bio +
Casey Lee

Curatorial Assistant

Bio +
Stephanie Schrader

Curator

Bio +

STUDY ROOM

Drawings not currently on display may be viewed by visitors in the Drawings Department study room. Please fill out the brief application here to make an appointment, ideally at least a week in advance. Thank you!

Inquiries concerning works in the collection can be addressed to drawings@getty.edu.