First used in prehistoric cave paintings watercolour is a uniquely versatile medium valued for its quick-drying properties and vivid colours. This superb guide traces its development through the ages and features works from many cultures and periods.From illuminated medieval manuscripts to Chinese fan paintings plant and animal studies to architectural drawings caricatures to miniatures there exists an astonishing variety of works in watercolour. It is with landscape painting however that the medium is most closely associated. Some of the earliest watercolour landscapes were created by the great German artist Albrecht Durer at the end of the 15th century but the genre had its golden age in the first half of the 19th century when Turner and other British artists produced dramatic works that looked ahead to abstract art in their exploration of colour and form.Featuring artists from graphic designers to the great masters Watercolour explores the extraordinary potential of this most popular of all painting media.