This exhibition catalog charts the evolution of figure drawing in the western world, starting with Michelangelo, and explores his enormous influence over his contemporaries and later generations.

Michelangelo’s nude drawings are celebrated for their depiction of the heroic figure. Emanating exceptional strength, monumentality, and vigorous emotions, his nudes became the standard bearers for centuries of figure drawing. This book examines the legacy of that ideal, through highly engaging texts and luminous reproductions of drawings, prints, and sculptures. In addition to key works by Michelangelo—including drawings for the Sistine Chapel, the unfinished fresco of the Battle of Cascina, and the tomb of Pope Julius II—readers will discover works by Raphael, Dürer, Rembrandt, Rubens, Klimt, and Schiele.