Heroic Nakedness

Christ Church Picture Gallery's summer exhibition, Heroic Nakedness, will celebrate the human body as seen by Renaissance and Baroque artists.

Agostino Carracci (1557…1602), A Warrior Subduing a Monster

Agostino Carracci (1557…1602), A Warrior Subduing a Monster

Combining voyeurism and a 'sense of wonder', the works have been selected as a tribute to the Olympic ideals and will demonstrate, with over 30 drawings from the gallery's permanent collection, how artists explore the physical beauty of the human form.

Don't miss

The almost clumsy rendering of a nude throwing a ball by an unknown Venetian artist of the early 15th century is an interesting example of the beginnings of the subject, when artists drew more from imagination than observation. Lorenzo di Credi's stylised drawing of the figure of David, some decades later, shows how a Renaissance artist attempts to represent a realistic image of the body. A group of life drawings by Agostino and Annibale Carracci show their endeavour to change art by drawing from real life models.


Venue details

Christ Church Picture Gallery Christ Church, Oxford Oxfordshire OX1 1DP 01865 276172 www.chch.ox.ac.uk/gallery

Entry details

Free with National Art Pass (standard entry £3)

Oct – May
Mon, Wed – Sat, 10.30am – 1pm and 2 – 4.30pm
Sun, 2 – 4.30pm

June
Mon, Wed – Sat, 10.30am – 5pm
Sun, 2 – 5pm

July – Sept
Mon – Sat, 10.30am – 5pm
Sun, 2 – 5pm

What the critics say

ft

Renaissance and Baroque Italian drawings maps an era when outer beauty was held up as a mirror of inner perfection.

  • Rachel Spence
  • FT