Lines of Thought: Drawing from Michelangelo to now

Examines the process and practice of drawing, showcasing over 500 years of work from Michelangelo to the present day

Lines of Thought uncovers the process and practice of drawing, illustrated by a selection of work created over 500 years. From Du?rer to Degas, Michelangelo to Matisse, Rembrandt to Riley, this publication studies the types of thinking that produced their drawings – brainstorming, enquiry, experiment, association, development and decision – giving us fresh insight into the creative impulse of some of the world’s greatest artists.

The accompanying exhibition will tour around the UK and internationally, inspiring and encouraging the practice of drawing. The exhibition and the book feature highlights of the British Museum’s outstanding Prints and Drawings collection.

Bridget Riley first came to the British Museum Study Room as a student at Goldsmiths College. The insights that she gained there were fundamental to the development of her pioneering abstract work, and drawing has remained a key tool at every stage of her creative process. Hugo Chapman is Keeper of Prints and Drawings at the British Museum. Isabel Seligman is the Bridget Riley Art Foundation Exhibition Curator at the British Museum.