Maarten Van Heemskerck: The Roman Sketchbook

Closeup of the Renaissance artist

Between 1532 and 1536/37, the Dutch artist Maarten van Heemskerck traveled to Rome. Most of the drawings created there were made by van Heemskerck in a sketchbook that he filled with motifs as he wandered through the city, and whose original binding has been lost. Thanks to state-of-the-art technology, researchers at the Berlin Kupferstichkabinett have now largely reconstructed the original sequence of the book's pages. This forms the basis of the present facsimile. In his fascinating studies, van Heemskerck captured the ancient sculptures, ruins, and Roman cityscapes. His sketches display a refined eye for composition and perspective as well as an extraordinary sensibility of drawing. In the sketchbook, the artist developed a space for individual experimentation, as well as a valuable trove of motifs from which he would draw throughout his life.