Head by Dhruva Mistry
Two seemingly tenuously tied exhibitions have just opened at The Queen’s Gallery in Buckingham Palace – Castiglione: Lost Genius and Gifted: From the Royal Academy to The Queen – offering visitors a chance to see some of the Royal Collections oldest and most recently received works.
Self Portrait by Giovanni Benedetto Castiglione
Castiglione: Lost Genius is the UK’s first major exhibition about Giovanni Benedetto Castiglione (1609-64), one of the most innovative draughtsmen of the 17th century. Through 90 drawings and prints from the Royal Collection, which contains the largest and finest group of the artist’s work, the exhibition aims to reinstate Castiglione in his rightful place as one of the greatest artists of the Baroque period.
Design for Kenilworth AM1 by Grayson Perry
Gifted: From the Royal Academy to The Queen features more than 100 works by Royal Academicians. From prints, drawings, and photographs, to works in oil, watercolour and mixed media, the portfolio of works on paper was presented to Her Majesty The Queen by the Royal Academy of Arts last year to celebrate her Diamond Jubilee. It includes works by some of the most high-profile Academicians, including Tracey Emin, David Hockney, Anish Kapoor, Humphrey Ocean, Cornelia Parker and Grayson Perry and more.
I got in the gallery a few days ago for a bloggers’ preview event and was impressed with both shows and the suggested continuity of innovation uniting them.
Both Castiglione: Lost Genius and Gifted: From the Royal Academy to The Queen run until 16 March at The Queen’s Gallery. Admission is £9.50 for adults. The gallery is located at Buckingham Palace, SW1A 1AA (entrance on Buckingham Palace Road). Find out more at royalcollection.org.uk.
