FRONT + BACK: Investigating a Renaissance Drawing (Opening) September 29, 2006

Opening: Friday, September 29
Opening Reception: 5:30 - 7:30 p.m.
Exhibition Dates: September 29 - December 22, 2006
Compton Gallery Building 10-150, 77 Massachusetts Ave.
Free Admission

FRONT + BACK is the first public presentation of a large sixteenth-century architectural drawing recently donated to the Museum by MIT alumnus Hugh Shepley.

Created in late-Renaissance Rome, its front depicts a grand classical palace façade viewed in dramatic one-point perspective. In the exhibition, a close investigation of the hand-made paper, pen-and-ink drawing, and numerous inscriptions provide clues to contextualize the work: its author, date, subject and purpose, location. Of equal interest is the back of the drawing, which displays ample evidence of a long and eventful history.

Studied and handled by generations of owners, the sheet experienced many wounds and losses that received carefully executed repairs, making it an extraordinary case-study in the history of preservation. The Compton Gallery exhibition provides an in-depth and engaging, in-the-round look at a treasured example of Italian Renaissance architectural drawing.

Official Website: http://web.mit.edu/museum/