Master Underdrawings

Maryan Ainsworth, curator, European Paintings, MMA

We are accustomed to enjoying and studying artists' renderings on paper, but many master drawings lie hidden beneath the surface of paintings. These range from mere preparatory sketches to fully worked-up drawings of great refinement. Discover some of the most extraordinary examples of such treasures in the early German paintings collection at the Metropolitan Museum. Part of Sunday at the Met—Dürer and Beyond: Central European Drawings in The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1400–1700.