The J. Paul Getty Museum presents Artists as Collectors, an exhibition exploring how artists accumulated, cared for, and used drawings by other artists that they avidly collected, on view at the Getty Center when it reopens May 25.
“For centuries, artists have collected other artists’ work,” says Timothy Potts, Maria Hummer-Tuttle and Robert Tuttle director of the J. Paul Getty Museum. “Painters such as Giorgio Vasari, Thomas Lawrence, and Edgar Degas acquired exceptional examples of draftsmanship by the masters of the past and of their contemporaries, including Raphael, Rembrandt, and Delacroix. These drawings were valued as coveted rarities, sources of inspiration, and powerful status symbols. This intriguing exhibition allows us to explore the many uses to which these works were put, and the influence they had on their owners and emulators down the centuries.”
This exhibition, drawn entirely from the Getty Museum’s permanent collection of drawings, includes examples from some of the most esteemed artists’ collections in Europe and reveals how and why artists chose works to collect.
An artist’s ability to acquire objects depended on his or her social network and the development of a market for drawings. The first works any artist owned came from their own hand, and favorite pupils or studio assistants obtained pieces by their teachers. By the end of the 15th century, when a market for drawings began to develop, it became easier for artists to acquire artwork from their peers, thereby increasing the scope of their collections.
Drawings were kept and treasured for a variety of reasons. They were used for training students and as reference material for an artist in search of inspiration. Certain sheets were valued for sentimental reasons, while others conferred status by confirming the wealth, power, and knowledge of the collector.
“Artists were among the first to recognize and appreciate drawings’ informative and aesthetic qualities, which is why they are among the first and greatest collectors of drawings,” says Casey Lee, curator of the exhibition. “By declaring their ownership through inscriptions and personalized stamps, the collectors make it possible to reconstruct aspects of a drawing’s life and reception.”
Artists as Collectors will be on view May 25 through September 12, 2021, at the Getty Center.
