In 1532, the Dutch painter Maarten van Heemskerck (1498-1574) travelled from Haarlem to Rome. With pencil in hand he discovered Antiquity and the Renaissance. His remarkable drawings lead us in masterly pictures on a journey through time through 16th-century Rome.

He was everywhere, from the Colosseum to the Forum Romanum to the Piazza del Campidoglio. Maarten van Heemskerck was one of the first artists from north of the Alps to embark on a trip to Rome purely for the sake of art. His sketches show his admiration for the buildings and artworks of Antiquity, as well as for the contemporary art of Raphael and Michelangelo. This magnificent volume invites the reader to discover Van Heemskerck's drawing technique, Roman topography and the social network of the 16th century as well as the fascinating story of the restoration of his Roman sketchbook.