Through the works of the major fifteenth-century draughtsmen - Pisanello, Jacopo Bellini, Pollaiuolo, Ghirlandaio, Carpaccio and Leonardo da Vinci - Francis Ames-Lewis then explores new types of drawing evolved during the century: the free sketch contrasting with the frozen control of the model-book, the exploratory study of the nude, the preparatory compositional sketch and the cartoon.

"Many famous artworks of the Italian Renaissance were made to celebrate love, marriage, and family. They were the pinnacles of a tradition, dating from early in the era, of commemorating betrothals, marriages, and the birth of children by commissioning extraordinary objects - maiolica, glassware, jewels, textiles, paintings - that were often also exchanged as gifts. This volume is the first comprehensive survey of artworks arising from Renaissance rituals of love and marriage and makes a major contribution to our understanding of Renaissance art in its broader cultural context. The impressive range of works gathered in these pages extends from birth trays painted in the early fifteenth century to large canvases on mythological themes that Titian painted in the mid-1500s. Each work of art would have been recognized by contemporary viewers for its prescribed function within the private, domestic domain."--BOOK JACKET.

"Beginning with an examination of drawing as part of the creative process, and showing how it reveals the artist's mind at work, the author explains in detail the materials and techniques used in Renaissance drawings. It also considers how drawings were used, how they changed stylistically through the period and how they varied in different regions of Italy. It concludes with a brief look at connoisseurship and collecting."--Amazon.

An Exhibition of Early Renaissance Drawings from Collections in Great Britain held at the University Art Gallery, Nottingham, 12 February to 15 May 1983 - Techniques - Modelbooks & sketchbooks - The draped figure - The nude figure - Biographies include: Gozzoli, Leonardo da Vinci, Filippo Lippi, Mantegna, Bellini etc.

The first catalogue to survey the Morgan?s collection of Italian Renaissance drawings, this monumental study also constitutes an introduction to Italian Renaissance draftsmanship for students and enthusiasts. It includes introductory essays on drawing in Renaissance Italy and on the formation of the Morgan?s collection. More than 120 detailed catalogue entries offer highly focused explorations of individual sheets, but these are grouped into chapters with introductory essays that provide context on key moments in the evolution of Renaissance drawing and on the distinct characteristics of different regional schools.00The related exhibition 'Invention and Design: Early Italian Drawings at the Morgan', organized by John Marciari, is on view February 15 through May 19, 2019. While the newly published catalogue covers drawings from around 1350?1600, the exhibition focuses on the earlier material, illuminating the origins and evolution of Italian drawing by artists born before 1500.00Exhibition: Pierpont Morgan Library, New York, USA (15.02.-193.05.2019).

Published in conjunction with an exhibition held at the Bode-Museum, Berlin, Aug. 25-Nov. 20, 2011, and at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, Dec. 21, 2011-Mar. 18, 2012.