Royal Collection Trust

Drawing was Leonardo da Vinci’s primary artistic activity. He used drawing to think, to explore the world around him and to develop his other artistic projects. His drawings are among the most diverse and technically accomplished in the entire history of art, and the Royal Collection holds by far the most important selection of these. In 2019, to mark the 500th anniversary of Leonardo’s death, a series of special exhibitions of his drawings will open simultaneously at 12 venues across the United Kingdom, including Belfast, Birmingham, Bristol, Cardiff, Glasgow, Leeds, Liverpool, Manchester, Sheffield, Southampton and Sunderland, with a further venue to be announced. This publication includes all 200 of the drawings shown across these venues and provides an authoritative account of Leonardo’s works within the Royal Collection.

The Royal Collection holds the finest collection of Leonardo da Vinci's drawings in existence. This groundbreaking book explores a substantial number of Leonardo's most celebrated works, drawn from the Collection, in unprecedented detail. Using specialist microscopic photography, this volume opens up a fresh understanding and appreciation of Leonardo's innovative techniques and presents new information on his materials, uncovering features previously invisible to the naked eye. In addition, infrared images bring to light the artist's first touches (including Leonardo's own thumbprint) and under-drawings, many of which have not been seen in five hundred years. This stunning volume presents a totally new way to appreciate the genius of Leonardo da Vinci.

Japan: Courts and Culture tells the story of three centuries of British royal contact with Japan, from 1603 to c.1937, when the exchange of exquisite works of art was central to both diplomatic relations and cultural communication. With discussions of courtly rituals, trade relationships, treaties, and other matters of concern between the two nations, this book provides important historical and political context in addition to granting a new look at the works of art in question. Featuring new research on previously unpublished works, including porcelain, lacquer, armor, embroidery, metalwork, and works on paper, this book showcases the unparalleled craftsmanship of these objects, and the local materials, techniques, and traditions behind them. Japan: Courts and Culture is published to accompany a spectacular exhibition of the same name, which opens at The Queen's Gallery, Buckingham Palace, in June 2020. The book's stunning photography, contextual essays, and historical insights offer a highly visual record of a royal narrative and history that has not yet been widely documented.