In the Middle Ages, most imagery was devotional and highly stylised. Drawing was used by craftsmen to plan paintings and buildings glorifying God and his secular representatives, and by monks to illustrate liturgical and canonical texts. As parchment was expensive, many early drawings were done on re-usable panels, and few survive today. Towards the turn of the fifteenth century, the practice of drawing began to change. Paper provided a less expensive alternative to parchment, and, with increasing interest in the natural world, drawing became the ideal medium for studying nature. Drawing also helped painters and sculptors to be accepted as artists rather than craftsmen by representing the intellectual work involved in producing a design. Here we explore different types of medieval drawings and ideas about their nature and design.
