Description

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This engaging book highlights the role of blue paper in the history of drawing.

The rich history of blue paper, from the late fifteenth to the mid-eighteenth centuries, illuminates themes of transcultural interchange, international trade, and global reach. Through the examination of significant works, this volume investigates considerations of supply, use, economics, and innovative creative practice. How did the materials necessary for the production of blue paper reach artistic centers? How were these materials produced and used in various regions? Why did they appeal to artists, and how did they impact artistic practice and come to be associated with regional artistic identities? How did commercial, political, and cultural relations, and the mobility of artists, enable the dispersion of these materials and related techniques? Bringing together the work of the world’s leading specialists, this striking publication is destined to become essential reading on the history, materials, and techniques of drawings executed on blue paper.

About the Author

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Edina Adam is assistant curator of drawings at the J. Paul Getty Museum.

Michelle Sullivan is associate conservator of drawings at the J. Paul Getty Museum.

Praise For…

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“Drawing on Blue is perhaps best intended for the purest kind of art historian — one who can deeply revel in the details of the conversation between artists, media, and advances that seem to be purely industrial or mechanical, but have unintended artistic applications.”
— Sarah Rose Sharp

“The catalogue contains many insights into Early Modern drawing practice.”
— Caroline Fowler