This catalogue presents the first comprehensive study of the Italian architectural drawings in the Cronstedt Collection in the Nationalmuseum Stockholm, discussing 181 drawings dating from around 1570 to around 1620. Among them are works by Francesco da Volterra, Carlo Maderno and other Roman architects, executed for churches, chapels, palaces, gardens, and fountains—many constituting primary and almost unknown sources for late Mannerist and early Baroque architecture. Also included are plans and architectural details by French draughtsmen, meticulously documenting ancient monuments, as well as buildings by the Renaissance masters Bramante, Antonio da Sangallo, Michelangelo, and Vignola.

Italian Architectural Drawings proposes new attributions in the light of recent scholarship, based on close examination of the drawings’ material (paper, medium, technique, mounting). Comparative illustrations and a photographic catalogue of the watermarks complete the volume..