| Beginning
around the mid-fifteenth century, European rulers began an
ambitious quest to discover the uncharted lands lying far
beyond their borders. As the bold explorations of Columbus,
Magellan, Drake, and others drew the world’s cultures
closer together, ideas mixed, and both science and art progressed
to new levels of sophistication. Advanced techniques of anatomical
study led artists to more lifelike renditions of human and
animal forms, while increasing knowledge of optics led to
advancements in the depiction of linear perspective.
By the
sixteenth century, European artists were able to bring to
their work a new vocabulary of realism allowing a fuller,
more powerful expression of ideas than ever before. The best
of this era’s artists - today known as the old masters
- revealed with superb technique the history, mythology, and
spirit of Western civilization at the dawn of the modern era.
This book
of postcards presents thirty old-master drawings from the
vast collection of the Musée du Louvre, Paris. Many
are studies for grander works; others constitute the end point
of the artist’s intended expression. All are part of
an unprecedented three-year partnership beginning in 2006
that brought these works and others from the Louvre to be
exhibited at the High Museum of Art in Atlanta. 30 full-colour
reproductions. 17.5cm x 12cm |
