Michelangelo and His Drawings

Michelangelo was a master draftsman whose striking and powerful drawings are not only an important part of his artistic heritage in their own right but are also a means of viewing his designs that have not otherwise survived. In this book Michael Hirst describes and analyzes Michelangelo's drawings in light of the many purposes for which the artist made them, thereby reaching for the first time a full understanding of their character and appearance. The product of thirty years of careful thought and examination of the original drawings, it provides the reader with new insights into the working methods and the mental processes of one of the most original of all artists. .

Library Journal

This valuable study explores Michelangelo's working methods and mental processes. The book's ten chapters analyze half the surviving drawings, some of which are referenced in more than one context. The text is organized by type of drawing: initial sketches, life studies, compositional drawings, architectural designs, and finished drawings used as gifts. It is followed by a thematically arranged index of drawings and a section of some 220 illustrations. In examining the artist's draughtsmanship (including media, attitude towards his work, and efforts made to procure the drawings once he was famous), Hirst clarifies the purpose of the works and why they look as they do. For academic collections.-- Robin Kaplan. Los Angeles, The Information Group