Photo: courtauld.ac.ukThe Courtauld Gallery will be putting together an exhibition of drawings made on blue paper.
Blue paper first appeared in the 14th-century and by the late 16th-century its use had spread from Venice across the rest of Europe, finally becoming popular in England by the 18th-century.
Photo: courtauld.ac.ukCompared to the starkness of white paper, blue paper provided artists with a nuanced mid-tone which was ideal for exploring shade, volume, and creating stronger contrasts between light and dark.
Photo: courtauld.ac.ukThe display will feature a range of works from the Renaissance artist Jacopo Tintoretto right up to the English painter JMW Turner, showcasing the benefits of using it for figure and sculpture studies.
This exhibition will also explore how the paper was made and the discovery of its limitations - like how it was prone to fading and discolouration, and later appeared as brown, grey or green.
