Whether preparatory sketches or deftly finished works the master drawings ofthe Italian Renaissance are some of the most visually arresting images in thehistory... » 

Whether preparatory sketches or deftly finished works the master drawings ofthe Italian Renaissance are some of the most visually arresting images in thehistory of artand some of the most remarkable windows on the creativeprocess. This book features 115 masterpieces by twentyfive principal artistsof the Italian Renaissance including Michelangelo Leonardo BotticelliRaphael Verrocchio Andrea del Sarto and Correggio. Culled from thecollections of the British Museum the Louvre and other notable Frenchinstitutions such as the Muse des BeauxArts Lille and the RenaissanceMuseum at Ecouen these drawings offer unique insight into the development andmethods of some of the most significant artists in history.In her introduction Claire Van Cleave examines drawing as part of the creativeprocessshowing how it reveals the artists mind at workand explains thematerials and techniques represented here. With a concise biography of eachartist and an engaging discussion of each drawing her overview identifiesstylistic changes through the period and variations from region to region. Thebook also provides a summary of connoisseurship and collectingtaking thestory of these drawings full circle from conception to appreciation. «