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
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Anne of Cleves, portrait miniature set in an ivory box, by Hans Holbein, 1539, England
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Nonsuch Palace from the South, watercolour, by Joris Hoefnagel, 1568, England
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Apollo and Daphne, drawing, by Giovanni Benedetto Castiglione, about 1630 – 64, Italy
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Young Man among Roses, portrait miniature, by Nicholas Hilliard, about 1587, England
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Portrait of an unknown man, watercolour painting, by Isaac Oliver, about 1595, England
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Watercolour, by Jacques Le Moyne de Morgues, about 1575, England
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Details of a decorative scheme for the eastern vault of the Madonna della Steccata, watercolour sketch, by Parmigianino, about 1531 – 39, Parma, Italy
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A Huntsman Resting with His Hounds, watercolour drawing, by Jacob Jordaens, about 1635, Southern Netherlands
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Citron, watercolour, by Vincenzo Leonardi, about 1640, Rome, Italy
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Portrait of a European, watercolour painting, about 1610 – 20, India
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Design for arms, armour, horses' trappings etc, for a pageant or triumph, watercolour drawing, by Jacopo Ligozzi, late 16th century, Italy
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Daffodils and a Red Admiral Butterfly, watercolour, by Jacques Le Moyne de Morgues, about 1575, France
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Armour for Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester, from The Almain Armourer's Album, watercolour armour design by Jacob Halder, 1557 – 87, Greenwich, London
Past events
Features
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About the Renaissance Watercolours display
About the Renaissance Watercolours display
Find out more about the display
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Get closer: Renaissance watercolours
Get closer: Renaissance watercolours
Zoom in and explore these beautiful and intriguing objects in fine detail
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The botanical album of Jacques Le Moyne de Morgues
The botanical album of Jacques Le Moyne de Morgues
Explore the 16th century album of exquisite watercolours in high definition
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A watercolour painting of a pomegranate by Lucy T Smith
A watercolour painting of a pomegranate by Lucy T Smith
Possibly the most soothing 40 minutes experience you'll have this week
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Renaissance watercolours: materials and techniques
Renaissance watercolours: materials and techniques
Discover the qualities that made watercolour the medium of choice for artists during the Renaissance
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Watercolours from the Paper Museum of Cassiano dal Pozzo
Watercolours from the Paper Museum of Cassiano dal Pozzo
One of the grandest pictorial records of the 17th century
Renaissance Watercolours
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