Italian Drawings - British Museum

Yesterday morning I went to the British Museum to see their current exhibition of Italian Renaissance Drawings. Walking around the darkened rotunda of the 'reading room' looking at the delicate coal and sepia sketches by the Italian masters (Fra Angelico, Leonardo, Michelangelo, Raphael) filled me with renewed inspiration and vigor for my field.

The one quote that stuck in my head and won't leave is by Leonardo da Vinci. He said:

"The sketching out of the narrative should be rapid and the arrangement of the limbs not too defined."

I think that I sometimes focus too much on getting it 'right' the first time. A little rapid scribbling might do me good.

In the above sketch you see St. Peter in his funny hat, and two gallery attendees examining him on the wall, one is listening to one of those media player thingies.

If you're in London and you love drawing, you should definitely make an effort to go the the British Museum.