The first in an exciting and inspirational new V&A sketchbook series that explores the sketching processes and techniques of artists from the 16th century to the present day
See InsideArtists have been using sketchbooks for many hundreds of years, particularly as part of the preparatory process that leads to the creation of great works.
Selected by curators from the extensive sketchbook collection of the Victoria and Albert Museum, and organized chronologically by artist, The Artist’s Sketchbook introduces around eighty profiles from different eras and movements, including John Constable, Beatrix Potter, Paul Nash, and Julie Verhoeven. Each profile includes a short text on the artist and their use of the sketchbook. The book brims with exquisite examples of drawings from life and the imagination, material experimentation and the planning of greater works. With rich, detailed photography, the sketchbooks are shown to be very much works of art in themselves, with open-book shots and selected covers reproduced as well as single pages. The book also highlights less well-known names as well as unrecognized artists, mostly women, for whom sketchbooks provided a creative outlet. While working within the limits of the V&A collection, the selection includes sketchbooks from beyond Britain and Europe by drawing on expertise from across the museum. Just as artists do, some inevitably blur the line between art, design, and fashion.
With an introduction by Jenny Gaschke, Senior Curator of Paintings and Drawings at the V&A, the book highlights the importance of sketching and the sketchbook throughout the history of art. Although not a practical guide to sketching techniques, it will nevertheless inspire the reader and appeal to anyone interested in the process of making art, and to those for whom sketching is a critical part of their own artistic practice.
'Featuring work from the 15th century to the present by luminaries such as Constable, Leonardo da Vinci and Beatrix Potter, as well as lesser-known painters and talented amateurs, The Artist’s Sketchbook offers a fascinating insight into the recesses of the artistic mind'
Observer
'An absolute triumph ... you become immersed in the general theme and the wealth and variety of material. With over 500 illustrations, this is impressive – the more so, perhaps, when you are reminded that all of them come from the collection of the Victoria and Albert Museum'
ArtBookReview
'It’s as though the creator’s process and artistic soul are broadcast on the pages. A fascinating visual anthology’ The Artist ‘Gaschke draws on her expertise to compile a guide to artists’ sketchbooks, from Leonardo da Vinci to the present day ... illustrates how sketchbooks can become invaluable repositories for scraps of inspiration'
How to Spend It, The Financial Times
Format: Hardback
Size: 19.5 x 27.0 cm
Extent: 336 pp
Illustrations: 528
Publication date: 26 September 2024
ISBN: 9780500480946