The Teyler Museum, the oldest public museum in the Netherlands, was founded in 1778 with the purpose of promoting the arts and sciences. From the beginning, master drawings formed one of the main areas of interest. In the course of over two centuries the successive curators built up a large and varied collection of old master drawings, which deservedly enjoys a world-wide reputation.

The Museum has undertaken publication of a multi-volume catalogue of the entire collection of old master drawings. The first volume, which appeared in 1997, discusses and illustrates 577 sheets by Dutch masters of the seventeenth century. This is one of the richest areas of the collection: included are magnificent series of works by great draughtsmen such as Hendrick Avercamp, Nicolaes Berchem, Jacob van Ruisdael, Philips Koninck, the Van Ostade brothers and Philips Wouwerman, among many others. Rembrandt is present with a splendid group of thirteen important studies.

The second volume published in April 2000 is the first dedicated to the Italian drawings and comprises the works of the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. The stars of the collection in this period are of course the famous sheets by Michelangelo and Raphael, but many more outstanding artists are represented. To mention a few: Andrea Boscoli, Ventura Salimbeni, Correggio, Luca Cambiaso, Battista Franco, Pellegrino Tibaldi, Cavaliere d'Arpino, Daniele da Volterra, Giulio Romano, Francesco Parmigianino, Polidoro da Caravaggio, Francesco Primaticcio, Titian, Paolo Veronese, Federico and Taddeo Zuccaro. The second part of the two-volume-set on the Italian Drawings which will be dedicated to the seventeenth century is scheduled for 2003.

The third volume in this series discusses and illustrates 757 sheets by Dutch masters of the late 18th and early 19th century. This part of the collection is one of a kind in that it was formed through acquisitions of works by contemporary artists, often purchased directly from the artists themselves. These drawings by highly regarded masters such as Jacob Cats, Wybrand Hendriks, Andreas Schelfhout, Johannes Schotel and many others are a perfect reflection of the period's taste for meticulously finished, often coloured drawings, many of them landscapes. The catalogue will be an indispensable reference work for all those interested in Dutch art in general and specifically for students, collectors and liefhebbers of Dutch drawings of the 18th and 19th century.