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Drawing like Carracci: From paper to palace

Join us for a special evening learning about the spectacular 'Carracci Cartoons', while also drawing your own piece of a cartoon in our new Clore Art Studio
Date
Friday, 23 May 2025
Time
6 - 8.30 pm

About

Step into the world of late Renaissance artists at work in the studio. Meet the brothers Annibale and Agostino Carracci and discover two magnificent cartoons, rarely shown but treasured in our collection. Whether you're curious about art history or eager to explore drawing techniques, this course offers something for everyone. 

Inspired by the exhibition ‘The Carracci Cartoons: Myths in the Making’, in this unique hands-on course, you'll discover both art and the history of late Renaissance art making. These extraordinary drawings will offer a rare glimpse into artistic practice. Created on large, thick sheets of paper, these preparatory drawings show how the brothers planned the grand ceiling decoration of Palazzo Farnese in Rome.  

Your journey begins in the gallery, where you will get close to these striking original cartoons. Through guided looking, you'll discover how the artists brought their ideas to life, from mythological scenes to classical gods dancing across the paper. 

Back in The Clore Art Studio, you will draw with charcoal and white chalk, as Annibale and Agostino would. Following their methods, you will learn how they moved from initial sketches to larger compositions. Throughout the session, we will explore how to build up tone, create fluid lines, and join pieces together to form a larger collaborative design that recreates elements of Renaissance practice, where artists worked together to realise a final ambitious project. 

All materials are provided, and you'll take your drawings home with you. A handout with extra resources will be provided in advance of the session. You don't need any previous art experience. Just come ready to look, discuss and create. 

Your tutors

Joanna Conybeare is an artist and Gallery Educator who has worked in Primary and Secondary schools in London and the south coast as a teacher and subject lead for Art and Design. In her own artistic practice, she uses clay, porcelain and terracotta to explore the figure, enjoying the immediacy of the material that enables her to ‘draw’ three-dimensionally.   

Dr Carlo Corsato is a Gallery Educator and curator at the National Gallery. Experienced in adult education, he teaches at Morley College and has lectured at the Courtauld Institute and University of St Andrews. He is passionate about history, digital technologies and audience engagement. His publications include ‘Lives of Titian’ and ‘Lives of Tintoretto’.  

Courses

Drawing like Carracci: From paper to palace

Join us for a special evening learning about the spectacular 'Carracci Cartoons', while also drawing your own piece of a cartoon in our new Clore Art Studio
Date
Friday, 23 May 2025
Time
6 - 8.30 pm

Enrol

This event is open for Members priority booking until Wednesday, 26 February 2025. Members please sign in to book.

Standard: £40
Concessions: £36

Please book a ticket to attend this course which will take place in the Roden Centre for Creative Learning.

Tickets include entry to the National Gallery. Please arrive in good time to access the building and find the event.  

Bookings close ten-minutes before the event. 

Concessions are for full-time students, jobseekers, and disabled adults. 

Concessions are for full-time students, jobseekers, and disabled adults.