Backdrawing

A drawing to guide layout or to establish a design, drawn on the back of the leaf to be painted and traced by the painter with the aid of backlighting.

A drawing to guide layout or to establish a design, drawn on the back of the leaf to be painted and traced by the painter with the aid of backlighting.

    Michelle Brown, Understanding Illuminated Manuscripts. (Malibu, CA: J. Paul Getty Museum in association with the British Library, c1994).