Pastelis one of the most versatile mediums in art history, and for the first time,Colorinto Linebrings together a powerful selection of pastel masterpieces spanning from Renaissance to contemporary art. Highlighting women artists who have historically used this medium, this book, and the exhibit it accompanies, showcases the pastel collection of the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, drawing on works from the Achenbach Foundation for Graphic Arts, which have never before been studied or exhibited as a whole. From canonical works by artists ranging from Jean-Baptiste Peronneau, Mary Cassatt, Edgar Degas, and Odilon Redon, to John Altoon and Wayne Thiebaud, the book highlights the medium’s technical aspects, emphasizing the design process behind each work. It presents a new scholarly approach, reviewing the medium’s history in context with issues of attribution and connoisseurship.The 90-some works include selected loans from local private holdings and public institutions, celebrating the richness of Bay Area and other California collections.By Copublished with Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco and Introduction by Furio RinaldiThe Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco constitute the largest public arts institution in the Bay Area. Comprising two museumsthe de Young in Golden Gate Park and the Legion of Honor in Lincoln Parkthe museums attract millions of visitors every year, and their membership numbers more than 100,000 households. Furio Rinaldi, an expert on 15th- and 16th-century Italian drawingsparticularly the schools of Leonardo da Vinci, Raphael, and Michelangelois curator in the Achenbach Foundation for Graphic Arts at the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco.125 color imagesPastels from the Renaissance to the Present125 color images