Lines of Thought

Last year's Lines of Thought: Drawing from Michelangelo to Now exhibition featured seventy-eight drawings from the British Museum, including works by Leonardo, Michelangelo, Rembrandt, and Picasso. The exhibition catalogue, by Isabel Seligman, supplements these with a selection of drawings from other collections. The result is a diverse survey of 500 years of drawing, with a historical introduction and subsequent chapters organised thematically.

The Art of Drawing: From the Dawn of History to the Era of the Impressionists, by Richard Kenin, was also illustrated primarily with drawings from the British Museum. Heribert Hutter's earlier Drawing: History and Technique (translated from the German Die Handzeichnung: Entwicklung, Technik, Eigenart) is less comprehensive, though it's notable for its tipped-in and photogravure illustrations.