Book Description

The Ashmolean possesses one of the great international collections of drawings: a conspectus of European drawing at its most distinguished and varied. This catalog includes works by artists working in Italy, Spain, and Northern Europe, from the time of the Renaissance to the end of the eighteenth century. There are five drawings by Michelangelo, and five by Raphael, including his youthful self-portrait. Leonardo is represented by two small drawings of unicorns, and there are major studies by Perugino, Carpaccio, and Titian. An imposing group by Baroque artists is followed by fine examples of the work of Tiepolo, Canaletto, Guardi, Piazzetta, and Piranesi. From north of the Alps there are drawings by Rubens, Rembrandt, and Durer, and probably the finest study ever made by Grunewald. The art of France is represented by Claude Lorrain, Watteau, Fragonard, and Ingres, and that of Britain by Holbein, Lely, Gainsborough, John Robert Cozens, and Rowlandson.