Masterpieces of drawing from the great schools and traditions of Italy and northern Europe, spanning four centuries from Filippino Lippi, Andrea del Sarto, and Titian to Rembrandt, Van Dyck, and Ingres. 47 plates.

This long awaited English edition of Manuale per la conservazione e il restauro di disegni e stampe antichi (1991) offers a clear and complete manual for the preservation and conservation of old master prints and drawings. The authors throw light on the historical and scientific backgrounds concerning the problems of restoration techniques of arts on paper, from 1150, when paper was first introduced in Europe, until the middle of the nineteenth century. The book is indispensable for anyone occupied with the study and conservation of old prints and drawings. This richly illustrated, first English edition is revised and brought fully up to date.

An overview of current research on technology and practice of Old Master Paintings.

The art of portraiture approached its apex during the sixteenth century in Europe with the discovery of oil painting when the old masters developed and refined techniques that remain unsurpassed to this day. The ascendance of nonrepresentational art in the middle of the twentieth century displaced these venerable skills, especially in academic art circles. Fortunately for aspiring artists today who wish to learn the methods that allowed the Old Masters to achieve the luminous color and subtle tonalities so characteristic of their work, this knowledge has been preserved in hundreds of small traditional painting ateliers that persevered in the old ways in this country and throughout the world. Coming out of this dedicated movement, Portrait Painting Atelier is an essential resource for an art community still recovering from a time when solid instruction in art technique was unavailable in our schools. Of particular value here is a demonstration of the Old Masters’ technique of layering paint over a toned-ground surface, a process that builds from the transparent dark areas to the more densely painted lights. This method unifies the entire painting, creating a beautiful glow that illuminates skin tones and softly blends all the color tones. Readers will also find valuable instruction in paint mediums from classic oil-based to alkyd-based, the interactive principles of composition and photograph-based composition, and the anatomy of the human face and the key relationships among its features. Richly illustrated with the work of preeminent masters such as Millet, Géricault, and van Gogh, as well as some of today’s leading portrait artists—and featuring seven detailed step-by-step portrait demonstrations—Portrait Painting Atelier is the first book in many years to so comprehensively cover the concepts and techniques of traditional portraiture.