A comprehensive examination of drawings from the Low Countries (present-day Luxembourg, Belgium and the Netherlands) dating from around 1430 to around 1600. This book is the culmination of a five-year research project combining curatorial, conservation and scientific expertise from the British Museum.

The Low Countries were the economic and artistic powerhouse of northern Europe in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. This book charts the development and function of drawings as valuable records of creativity and exchange, shedding light on artistic techniques, styles and workshop practice. Key questions are addressed, such as: how these early drawings were made, used and understood by their contemporaries.

Case studies selected from over 1,200 sheets from the British Museum’s outstanding collection are brought together to present a new paradigm for the understanding of Netherlandish drawings. With a focus on function and material, new connections from across the period enable the presentation of a unified narrative of drawing in the region.

Highlights include works by renowned artists Rogier van der Weyden, Lucas van Leyden, Pieter Bruegel and Hendrick Goltzius. Examples from lesser-known artists, anonymous works and workshop copies ensure the presentation of a comprehensive account of drawing in the region.

Olenka Horbatsch is Curator of Dutch, Flemish and German Prints and Drawings at the British Museum and a board member of the Historians of Netherlandish Art.

Charlotte Wytema is IMAF Project Curator: Netherlandish Drawings at the British Museum.

Yvonne Bleyerveld is Senior Curator of Drawings and Prints at the Institute for Art History (RKD) in The Hague and Professor of Art of Paper and Parchment at Leiden University.