Italian Renaissance Drawings Paperback and DVD

This sumptuously illustrated paperback catalogue charts the history of drawing in Italy from 1400, just prior to the emergence in Florence of the classically inspired naturalism of the Renaissance style, to around 1510 when Michelangelo, Raphael and Titian were on the verge of taking the innovations of earlier masters, such as Leonardo and Pollaiuolo, in a new direction.
The book highlights the key role played by drawing in artistic teaching and in how artists studied the human body and the natural world. Aspects of regional difference, the development of new drawing techniques and classes of graphic work, such as finished presentation pieces to impress patrons, are also explored.
An extended introduction focusing on how and why artists made drawings, with a special emphasis on the pivotal role of Leonardo, is richly illustrated with examples from the two collections that elucidate the technique and function of the works. This is followed by catalogue entries for just over 100 drawings where discussion of their function and significance is supported by comparative illustrations of related works, such as paintings.

Featuring outstanding examples from two major collections – the Uffizi in Florence and the British Museum in London – the accompanying DVD explores how masters such as Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo, Raphael, Titian, Botticelli and Verrocchio used preparatory drawings to perfect more naturalistic forms and perspective. Interviews with scholars, art historians and practitioners reveal how this art form evolved and laid the foundations of the High Renaissance style of Michelangelo and Raphael.