cover image Italian, Frch, Eng, Span Drawings

Italian, Frch, Eng, Span Drawings

Marilyn F. Symmes, Victor Carlson. Hudson Hills Press, $75 (367pp) ISBN 978-1-55595-057-6

Highlights of this collection include Michelangelo's sketches for the decoration of the Sistine Chapel ceiling, Canaletto's sensitive architectural drawings and Thomas Gainsborough's breezy, spontaneous Study of Shrimpers. Claude Lorrain, Tiepolo, Tintoretto, Francois Bopucher and George Romney are also featured in this handsome sampler for connoisseurs and art students. Subjects range from imaginary landscapes to portraits, nudes and animal studies. Led by Sharp and Carlson (curators, respectively, at the Detroit Institute of Arts and the Los Angeles County Museum of Art), a team of scholars and curators provides exhaustive commentaries on 34 color plates and 262 duotones. (Dec.)