Northern European Metalpoint Drawings

This volume presents the results of a comprehensive non-invasive technical examination of 30 northern European metalpoint drawings in the collection of the British Museum, most of which were included in the exhibition Drawing in Silver and Gold: Leonardo to Jasper Johns, shown at the British Museum, London and the National Gallery of Art, Washington in 2015.Metalpoint is a drawing technique closely associated with the linear aesthetic of the 15th century, but its unique qualities were still being explored by artists such as Hendrick Goltzius throughout the following century. Using an approach developed for previous research on Italian Renaissance drawings, the authors of this study combined visual examination methods with technical imaging and chemical analysis in order to uncover new information on the materials used by different artists and explore the variations in their drawing techniques. The resulting data is used to make comparisons and associations between various works and also shows how northern European artists, particularly those from the Netherlands, differed profoundly from their counterparts south of the Alps in the innovative way they used incised lines to emphasise certain details in their drawing.The detailed discussion and documentation presented in this study complements an earlier volume on Italian Renaissance drawings and will be of great interest to anyone engaged in studying or caring for old master drawings.

Silverpoint, and metalpoint more generally, is the practice of marking with soft metal on a specifically prepared drawing surface. Practiced for centuries, the artform is experiencing a resurgence in recent years, with contemporary work exploring abstract as well as realist, conceptual as well as traditional. Silverpoint and Metalpoint Drawing is the essential manual of metalpoint technique, written by Susan Schwalb and Tom Mazzullo, contemporary masters of the medium. This book is the first treatise on the subject for artists and art teachers with chapters on early history, materials including grounds, supports, metals, and tools, techniques for working in metalpoint as well as mixed media, and finally, the care of metalpoint works. Not only beautifully illustrated, this book also demonstrates how to photograph and exhibit metalpoint art. Featuring a gallery of drawings by contemporary artists, along with their tips and insight, Silverpoint and Metalpoint Drawing is a perfect introduction for students of the medium and an inspiration for those already more familiar with it.

This exhibition is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to see around 100 exceptional drawings created using the exquisite metalpoint technique. It features works by some of the greatest artists working from the late 14th century to the present including Rogier van der Weyden, Petrus Christus, Leonardo da Vinci, Raphael, Albrecht Dürer, Hans Holbein the Elder, Lucas van Leyden, Rembrandt, Edward Burne-Jones, William Holman Hunt, Otto Dix, Jasper Johns and Bruce Nauman. Works drawn from the British Museum's superb collection of metalpoint drawings sit alongside major loans from European and American museums as well as private collections, including four sheets by Leonardo da Vinci from the Royal Collection.--British Museum website.

Immensely skillful and inventive, Hans Holbein molded his approach to art-making during a period of dramatic transformation in European society and culture: the emergence of humanism, the impact of the Reformation on religious life, and the effects of new scientific discoveries. Most people have encountered Holbein’s work—think of King Henry VIII and Holbein’s memorable portrait springs to mind, forever defining the Tudor king for posterity—but little is widely known about the artist himself. This overview of Holbein looks at his art through the changes in the world around him. Offering insightful and often surprising new interpretations of visual and historical sources that have rarely been addressed, Jeanne Nuechterlein reconstructs what we know of the life of this elusive figure, illuminating the complexity of his world and the images he generated.

This book is the first introduction to Western art that not only considers how choice of materials can impact form, but also how objects in different media can alter in appearance over time, and the role of conservators in the preservation of our cultural heritage. The first four chapters cover wall and easel paintings, sculpture, drawings, and prints, from the late Middle Ages to the present day. They examine, with numerous examples, how these works have been produced, how they might have been transformed, and how efforts regarding their preservation can sometimes be misleading or result in controversy. The final two chapters look at how photography, new techniques, and modern materials prompted innovative ways of creating art in the twentieth century, and how the rapid expansion of technology in the twenty-first century has led to a revolution in how artworks are constructed and seen, generating specific challenges for collectors, curators, and conservators alike. This book is primarily directed at undergraduates interested in art history, museum studies, and conservation, but will also be of interest to a more general non-specialist audience.

V. 3 betr. u. a. Hans Jakob Plepp.

Works in the Museum's collection that embody the Renaissance interest in classical learning, fame, and beautiful objects are illustrated and discussed in this resource and will help educators introduce the richness and diversity of Renaissance art to their students. Primary source texts explore the great cities and powerful personalities of the age. By studying gesture and narrative, students can work as Renaissance artists did when they created paintings and drawings. Learning about perspective, students explore the era's interest in science and mathematics. Through projects based on poetic forms of the time, students write about their responses to art. The activities and lesson plans are designed for a variety of classroom needs and can be adapted to a specific curriculum as well as used for independent study. The resource also includes a bibliography and glossary.

"Ernst van de Wetering's wonderful book has taken us further than almost any study over the past twenty years, towards an understanding of the machinery of Rembrandt's genius. No one attempting to write about Rembrandt in the future will be able to do so without taking this fine work into account." --Simon Schama "Who would not have wanted to look over Rembrandt's shoulder while he painted? Among the countless books on Rembrandt, that by Ernst van de Wetering comes closest to conveying something of this experience because the author combines the qualifications of a trained connoisseur and of a practising painter." --Ernst Gombrich