Nature Studies
The study of nature through drawings was hardly unknown in the Middle Ages, especially of plants and animals. Human models, however, were avoided until the Renaissance, and even then strictures about the drawing of nude models, especially women, and the dissection of cadavers continued in many places. Scientists employed professional artists to illustrate their research, and certain important artists were scientists themselves and merged their scientific interests with their artistic pursuits. In this way the visual arts and natural sciences developed many interconnections, and drawing became a discipline equally valuable to both.
 


Giovanni da Udine. Study of A Rock Dove. Musée du Louvre, Paris

 

by Michael Miller
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