Titian Drawings

Because the great Venetian painter Titian seldom did preparatory sketches for his canvases, his drawings are not well-known. Here all 39 of his surviving drawings are assembled in one volume for the first time. From the dynamic sensuality of Embracing Couple to the magnificent mannerist charcoal sketches that dissolve form into ``vibrations of light,'' the book is a treat for connoisseurs. Titian used pen and brown ink for quick, impressionistic studies; he also used black and white chalk on blue paper for soft, plastic effects. His drawings are nearly always painterly, whether in the battered dignity of Head of the Old Man or the sweet soulfulness of Portrait of a Young Woman. Wiel, a specialist in the arts of the Veneto, provides a scholarly introduction and extensive notes on each of the plates, most of which are in color. (Nov.)