The Barber Institute of Fine Arts, 14 June - 1 September 2019
During the 17th century, Cassiano dal Pozzo and his younger brother, Carlo Antonio, embarked upon an epic attempt to document and record the major fields of knowledge of their day.
They assembled a 'Paper Museum’ consisting of over 10,000 watercolours, drawings and prints illustrating subjects as diverse as antiquities, architecture, zoology, botany and geology, social customs and ceremonies, costumes, portraits, topography and military maps. Their collection represents one of the most significant attempts before the age of photography to embrace human knowledge in visual form - in many respects, the brothers were proto Instagrammers, creating a visual record of the material world around them.
Most of the dal Pozzo collection was acquired by George III in 1762, and is still part of the Royal Collection today. This exhibition – the first in more than 20 years dedicated to Cassiano’s remarkable contribution to art and science – comes out of the second year of a collaboration between the Barber and Royal Collection Trust. The show includes more than 40 objects, including 17 ‘Paper Museum’ works lent by Her Majesty The Queen from the Royal Collection, some of which have never been publicly displayed before.
This exhibition – the second in an annual collaboration between the Barber and Royal Collection Trust – is co-curated by MA Art History and Curating students, and explores a selection of these works on paper. Generous loans by Her Majesty The Queen are enhanced by rare books and geological specimens from the University’s Cadbury Research Library and the Lapworth Museum respectively. The exhibition was accompanied by a booklet researched and written by the student co-curators; available at the Barber.
This exhibition was curated by: Beth Brankowski, Mimi Buchanan, Eden Challenger, Lily Cheetham, Poppy Hicklin and Sarah McDermott Brown.
The exhibition received excellent press coverage, including a 5 star review from Jonathan Jones in The Guardian; The Art Newspaper.
Visit the Paper Museum webpage