The Independent's journalism is supported by our readers. When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn commission.
Exhibition of the week: Barocci: Brilliance and Grace, National Gallery, London WC2
British museums are short of paintings by the Italian mannerists and post-Renaissance artists, and Federico Barocci was recognised by his peers as the finest of his generation.
Too frail to paint more than a few hours a day, he took painstaking care to prepare his paintings with drawings – and one of the joys of this exhibition is the display of his sketches alongside the final works.
The result was a series of works relatively few in number but sure in effect: altarpieces and works for private devotion that expressed divinity through naturalism and purity of spirit, with a radical boldness of composition and colour palette.
020 7747 2885; nationalgallery.org.uk to 19 May
Subscribe to Independent Premium to bookmark this article
Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Start your Independent Premium subscription today.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies