This beautiful book showcases 112 superb drawings by Italian artists of the 15th and 16th centuries. Taken from the pre-eminent collections of the British Museum, the Louvre and other French museums, they range from meticulous compositions in metalpoint to sweeping chalk studies. Most were made as preparatory designs for paintings, exploring the human figure or drapery, experimenting with the arrangement of groups of figures or working out architectural details.Occasionally, portraits or landscape sketches were made as works in their own right, for sheer pleasure or as gifts.