Past event
Renaissance Watercolours
This display presents for the first time watercolour during the Renaissance as a unified art form, highlighting its versatility and pivotal role in understanding, interpreting and documenting the natural world.
This display is now closed at V&A South Kensington
Display highlights
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Canterbury Cathedral font design, watercolour drawing, by John Christmas, about 1638 – 39, Britain. Museum no. E.574-2005. © Victoria and Albert Museum, London -
Anne of Cleves, portrait miniature set in an ivory box, by Hans Holbein, 1539, England. Museum no. P.153:1, 2-1910. © Victoria and Albert Museum, London -
Nonsuch Palace from the South, watercolour, by Joris Hoefnagel, 1568, England. © Victoria and Albert Museum, London -
Apollo and Daphne, drawing, by Giovanni Benedetto Castiglione, about 1630 – 64, Italy. Museum no. DYCE.346. © Victoria and Albert Museum, London -
Young Man among Roses, portrait miniature, by Nicholas Hilliard, about 1587, England. Museum no. P.163-1910. © Victoria and Albert Museum, London -
Portrait of an unknown man, watercolour painting, by Isaac Oliver, about 1595, England. Museum no. IS.60-1978. © Victoria and Albert Museum, London -
Watercolour, by Jacques Le Moyne de Morgues, about 1575, England. Museum no. AM.3267W-1856. © Victoria and Albert Museum, London -
Details of a decorative scheme for the eastern vault of the Madonna della Steccata, watercolour sketch, by Parmigianino, about 1531 – 39, Parma, Italy. Museum no. 4898. © Victoria and Albert Museum, London -
A Huntsman Resting with His Hounds, watercolour drawing, by Jacob Jordaens, about 1635, Southern Netherlands. Museum no. 4905. © Victoria and Albert Museum, London -
Citron, watercolour, by Vincenzo Leonardi, about 1640, Rome, Italy. Museum no. E.426-2009. © Victoria and Albert Museum, London -
Portrait of a European, watercolour painting, about 1610 – 20, India. Museum no. IM.9-1913. © Victoria and Albert Museum, London -
Design for arms, armour, horses' trappings etc, for a pageant or triumph, watercolour drawing, by Jacopo Ligozzi, late 16th century, Italy. Museum no. 4785. © Victoria and Albert Museum, London -
Daffodils and a Red Admiral Butterfly, watercolour, by Jacques Le Moyne de Morgues, about 1575, France. Museum no. AM.3267A-1856. © Victoria and Albert Museum, London -
Armour for Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester, from The Almain Armourer's Album, watercolour armour design by Jacob Halder, 1557 – 87, Greenwich, London. Museum no. D.588&A-1894. © Victoria and Albert Museum, London
Past events
Features
About the Renaissance Watercolours display
Find out more about the display
Get closer: Renaissance watercolours
Zoom in and explore these beautiful and intriguing objects in fine detail
The botanical album of Jacques Le Moyne de Morgues
Explore the 16th century album of exquisite watercolours in high definition
A watercolour painting of a pomegranate by Lucy T Smith
Possibly the most soothing 40 minutes experience you'll have this week
Renaissance watercolours: materials and techniques
Discover the qualities that made watercolour the medium of choice for artists during the Renaissance
Watercolours from the Paper Museum of Cassiano dal Pozzo
One of the grandest pictorial records of the 17th century
Renaissance Watercolours
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Background image: Daffodils and a Red Admiral Butterfly, watercolour, Jacques Le Moyne de Morgues, about 1575, England. Museum no. AM.3267A-1856. © Victoria and Albert Museum, London