This lovely gift book introduces one of the greatest Renaissance masters through his drawings. A short illustrated essay opens the book, describing Michelangelo's life and the background behind some of his greatest works, including the Sistine chapel ceiling and the Last Judgement. The book then illustrates a selection of his most important drawings with short captions, from sketches jotting down preliminary ideas to highly finished studies - all proving how integral drawing was to the artist in the process of perfecting his ideas. In all the illustrated works, from portraits to architectural studies, from complex studies for the Sistine chapel to his moving Crucifixion scenes, the genius and inventiveness of the artist is apparent, making this the perfect introduction to the work of an unsurpassed master draughtsman.

Hugo Chapman is curator of Italian drawings before 1800 at the British Museum. He is author of Padua in the 1450s: Marco Zoppo and his Contemporaries (1998) and Michelangelo Drawings: Closer to the Master (2005); and co-author of Old Master Drawings from the Malcolm Collection (1996), Drawings by Correggio and Parmigianino (2000) and Raphael from Urbino to Rome (2004).