Events

Large circular images – called tondi (singular tondo) from the Italian rotondo ( = round) – had become popular in fifteenth-century Florence. The Picture Gallery has three large tondi by artists working in Florence: Raffaello Botticini (1477-1520), Raffaellino del Garbo (1466-1524) and by an Imitator of Lorenzo di Credi (c. 1458-1537). They will all be on show together for the first time. 

This exhibition will explore how artists used coloured paper surfaces to give their drawings more spatial depth: from preparing their papers with pastel-coloured chalk grounds, as described in Cennino Ceninni’s famous artists’ handbook, to the readily produced blue paper (carta azzurra), made famous by artists in Venice. 

The Christ Church Sibyls, two paintings each showing five sibyls (sibyl = female prophet) have intrigued scholars and visitors alike. They were created by two of the most ingenious artists of the Florentine Renaissance: Sandro Botticelli and Filippino Lippi. 

Celebrate the festive season with an exclusive afternoon tea inspired by Dickens's popular tale A Christmas Carol.