The Palmer Museum of Art is taking sketching back a few hundred years.

In Old Master Drawings, the museum has put on display highlights from its collection of 16th-, 17th- and 18th-century drawings. The exhibit, which runs through Jan. 31, is comprised of 34 drawings and one print piece.

Exhibit curator Patrick McGrady said many antique drawings were rough drafts for a future work.

"The whole idea of drawing goes back to the notion of 'disegno,' Italian for drawing and design," said McGrady. "Artists would sketch to work out their 'primo pensiero' or their first thoughts like in 'The Preparatory Study for the Invention of the Cross' by Antonio Domenico Gabbiani."

Another piece that McGrady was drawn to was "Venus and Adonis, c. 1615-20," attributed to Joachim Wtewael.

The piece shows a quiet moment with Venus, Adonis, and Cupid in which Venus warns Adonis to stay away from animals that hunt humans, McGrady said.

"For this piece, the artist is in full control of his faculties," he said. "You don't see any mistakes in the design -- the piece conveys a sense of being that only a master can create."

Lyndsey Smith (senior-art history), an intern at the Palmer Museum of Art, enjoyed "Venus and Adonis" as well.

Smith believed the exhibit was aptly named because the featured artists were seen as the masters of their time.

"I particularly like the 'Allegory of Prudence, c. 1550-1600' piece because we don't know who created it," Smith said. "You would have to examine the iconography, imagery and technique of the drawing to solve the mystery of the creator."

Another standout for Smith was a drawing of a man and a staff in "The Studies for Presentation in the Temple, c. 1710-19" by Antonio Domenico Gabbiani.

"The talent, time and genius behind this piece was incredible," Smith said. "He probably sketched it in about 20 minutes -- that's how good he was."

Three pieces from the exhibit were bequeathed to the Palmer Museum by Mary Jane Harris.