Northern European metalpoint drawings: technical examination and analysis

Abstract

This publication is the result of a project of technical examination on metalpoint drawings which was undertaken in preparation for the exhibition Drawing in Silver and Gold: Leonardo to Jasper Johns. In this volume we report the results of the examination of thirty metalpoint drawings in the British Museum's collection from Germany and the Low Countries dating from the 15th to 17th centuries. This research builds on the work done for an earlier project, published in Italian Renaissance Drawings: Technical Examination and Analysis. The research methodology used combines techniques of visual examination, technical imaging and chemical analysis in order to understand drawing techniques and the use of materials. In some cases curators had particular questions that might be further investigated through this research. The results are fully documented here and it is hoped that this will form a useful reference in the future, as comparative information in the examination of drawings in other collections.