Beyond the Painter-Architect: Artists Reinventing Architecture in Renaissance Italy

This online exhibition explores the contribution of artists to architectural practice in Renaissance Italy by focusing on the North Italian Album, a volume of drawings in Soane’s collection.

These drawings reveal that a variety of craftsmen were broadly interested in architectural forms well before (and after) landmark ‘painter-architects’ like Raphael and Michelangelo.

Curated by Livia Lupi

Before diving into the sections below, watch an introduction.

Acknowledgements

With thanks to the Leverhulme Trust, the GrandPalaisRmn (Musée du Louvre), the Centro Studi Antoniani in Padua, the Musei Reali in Turin and Bridgeman Images.

Special thanks to Paul Davies, David Hemsoll, Erin McKellar and Frances Sands.

Exhibition sections

Beyond the Painter-Architect: Introduction

Explore the diverse designs in the North Italian Album, which had the potential to interest Renaissance painters, sculptors, metalworkers and woodworkers as much as architects.

Beyond the Painter-Architect: What is an Architectural Drawing?

The North Italian Album does not feature ground plans, section, or measurements. Yet its engagement with built architecture is consistent, and the use of pigment gives it a unique aesthetic appeal.

Beyond the Painter-Architect: Artists & Their Architectural Imagination

The drawings in the North Italian Album engage with a tradition of architectural representation rooted in painting. Compare some of its designs to the frescoes by fourteenth-century painter Altichiero da Zevio.

Beyond the Painter-Architect: Architectural Forms as Commodity

Explore a network of artworks that demonstrate a consistent engagement with architectural design on the part of craftsmen. These drawings were produced to showcase ingenuity and attract patrons.

Beyond the Painter-Architect: Craftsmanship

Architectural practice intersected with painting, sculpture and mosaics, but it also included creating designs for a variety of objects in different media, testifying to dynamic exchanges between craftsmen.

Beyond the Painter-Architect: What is a Painter-Architect?

The North Italian Album is representative of a broad interest in architectural forms across media and techniques. This calls into question the definition of ‘painter-architect’ for figures like Raphael and Michelangelo.

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