Venetian Drawings in the Hermitage

Abstract

In pointing out the deficiencies of our lists, in the preface of our Drawings of the Venetian Painters,¹ we expressly mentioned one difficulty. The rising threat of war made it impossible to check the drawings in Scandinavian and Russian collections. The most important of the collections thus neglected is the department of drawings in the Hermitage. We are now very much pleased to be in a position to supplement our scanty remarks, limited to previously published material and notes received from Frederick Hartt, by the help of a book with which we recently became acquainted. It is M. B. Dobroklonsky, Italian Drawings of the XVth and XVIth Centuries in the Hermitage, Leningrad, 1940. It is written in Russian and contains a short history of the collection, as well as a careful and well documented description of its Italian drawings. Quite a few of the unknown ones are illustrated in unassuming halftones. This enables us to supplement our previous references to these drawings, or to offer comments upon others unknown to us, while limiting ourselves to the Venetian School as defined in our book. We regret that so many which are not illustrated still remain withheld from us and that the numerous drawings listed as anonymous continue to be an inaccessible hunting ground.