Renaissance Watercolours: from Dürer to Van Dyck, V&A

When one thinks of the art of the Renaissance, rich oil painting and dramatic sculpture usually spring to mind. Less known however, is how watercolour painting flourished during this period. Modern watercolour practices arguably have its roots in the monasteries of the Northern Renaissance, beginning life in the margins of illuminated manuscripts. The German artist Albrecht Dürer was an early pioneer of this technique and used watercolours to create life-like representations of wildlife, landscapes, and portraits with astonishing detail.

The V&A’s new exhibition Renaissance Watercolours will explore the rise of this delicate medium through 200 rarely-seen masterpieces from both UK and international collections. Visitors will be able to discover a mix of finished works and sketches by key painters including Dürer, the Baroque artist Anthony van Dyck (who allegedly imported Flemish watercolour practices to England), the famous English miniaturist Nicholas Hilliard, and the Tudor court painter Hans Holbein.

The medium's uncanny ability to capture life elevated it beyond purely aesthetic uses. The exhibition will detail how natural history, landscape and portraiture developed as important watercolour genres, offering not only a visual feast but also a fascinating look into how knowledge was recorded and stored during the Age of Discovery.