Drawing Techniquesby Old Masters & Contemporary Artists
A beautiful, sensuous surface is one of the principle goals of meticulous drawing. For the past 500 years,certain artists in each era have maintained fine rendering and attention to surface as a priority in their work.Making these beautiful drawings requires different skillsfrom making good paintings. Many talented painters lack the light touch and sensitivity to produce a sensuous surface on paper. Perhaps the ultimate tool in the meticulous technique is a medium called \"silverpoint\".
The characteristics of silverpoint are:1) subtlety of tone in the lighter end of the tonal scale2) single-hatch drawing resulting in an extremely uniform, sensuous surface
Artists, whether Old Master or contemporary, whoare most successful in silverpoint drawing are those with a deep concern for beauty of surface. So an artist such as Leonardo, who was perhaps the mostsensitive draftsperson in all art history, is much more successful in silverpoint than an artist such asMichelangelo who is relatively heavy-handed in his drawing.
The influence of the great Italian Renaissance artist Michelangelo spread far beyond his own time.His red chalk study for one of the figures on the Sistine Chapel ceiling is an extraordinary exampleof his conception of the idealized male nude. In making his drawing, Michelangelodepended both on the live model and on his understanding of the idealized anatomyo f c l a s s i c a l s c u l p ture. Although the two poses are very different, both have forward curvingt o r s o s t h a t e m p h a s i z e the muscles of the chest and abdomen. The pose comes from a famousfragment of classical sculpture that both artists knew, the Belvedere Torso.Michelangelo Buonarroti (Italian, 1475-1564)Study for the Nude Youth over the Prophet Daniel, 1510-11Red chalk, 13 3/16 x 9 3/16 inches
A n n i b a l e C a r r a c ci understood this as well when he drew his figureo f H e r c u l e s a l m o s t o n e hundred years later.Annibale Carracci (Italian, 1560-1609)Hercules Resting, 1595-97Black chalk heightened with white, squared in black chalk onright, 13 15/16 x 20 5/8 inches
Hatching is the repetition of parallel lines to create broad areas of tone, as we see in this detail of a leg in aMichelangelo figure drawing. In Cross hatching the artist adds another series of lines that cross the first set,creating even denser areas of tone, as seen in Dürer's arm of Eve. Michelangelo Buonarroti (Italian, 1475-1564) Albrecht Dürer (German, 1471-1528)Detail from Study for the Nude Youth over the Prophet Detail from Arm of Eve, 1507Daniel, 1510-11 (recto) Point of brush and gray and black wash, brush andRed chalk and black chalk on beige laid paper, 13 gray and black wash,heightened with white gouache,3/16 x 9 3/16 inches on blue laid paper, 33.4 x 26.7 centimetersFigure Studies for the Sistine Ceiling (verso)Red chalk heightened with traces of white
Made almost four centuries apart, these two sheets show how the tradition and function of drawingshas been continuous in the history of Western art. Durer and Degas both drew in order to understandhow to convincingly render the arm of a female figure they planned to use later in a finished oil painting.However, they used very different techniques to achieve this end.B o t h a r t i s t s w a n ted to und e rsta n d h o w l i g h t f a lls on a form and how to make it appear three-dimensional.D u r e r u s e d a n e tw o r k of lines— k n o w n a s c r o ss h a tching—made with the point of a brush.Degas, on the other hand, used black chalk, which he could blend to make subtle tonal variations. Edgar Degas (French,Albrecht Dürer (German, 1834-1917)1471-1528) Angel Blowing aArm of Eve, 1507 Trumpet, 1857-59Point of brush and gray Black chalk, 17 æ x 21and black wash, 15/16 inchesheightened with white Gift of the Print Club ofgouache, 13 1/8 x 10 ‡ Cleveland 1976.130inches
Hatching: One of the most Linecommon ways for an artist tosuggest volume and depth, or thedepiction of shadow, by whichclosely drawn parallel lines aregrouped together.In the case of cross-hatching, the Hatchingparallel lines are crossed by other Crosshatchingsets of lines which create a densegrid-like pattern.
In this drawing, 18th century French painter JeanHonore Fragonard creates a beautifully sensuoussurface with the single-hatch technique.
Raphael’s drawingwith delicate combinationof lines and hatching.
Artists use a stump, a tightly rolled piece of leather or paper, to manipulate andblend dry media like ch a l k o r c h a r c o a l . P i a zzetta used a stump to vary the richblacks in this detail from a crayon drawing. Giovanni Battista(Giambattista) Piazzetta(Italian, 1682-1754)Detail from A YoungWoman Buying a Pink froma Young Man, about 1740Black crayon (wetted andrubbed) heightened withwhite chalk, on blue laidpaper (faded to green-gray), 42.7 x 54.9centimeters
Wash is a general term that generally refers to diluted ink applied with a brush. In this detail fromGuercino ' s d r a w i n g o f V e n u s a n d C u pid, the face of Venus shows how, by varying the density of thewash by varying his brushstroke, the artist achieved tonal gradation. Giovanni FrancescoBarbieri, called Guercino(Italian, 1591-1666)Detail from Venus andCupid, 1615-17Pen and brown ink andbrush and brown washover red chalk, on creamlaid paper, 25.5 x 39.4centimeters
As its name implies, metalpoint is a stylus made of metal that actually leaves small depositson the paper , w h i c h m u c h b e s p e c i a l l y prepared so that it has a slightly rough surface.Metalpoint is made of several different soft metals, including gold, bronze, or, more commonly,silver. This drawing by Raphael on paper prepared with a pink ground is in silverpoint. Raffaello Santi, calledRaphael (Italian,1483-1520)Detail from Studies of aSeated Female, Child'sHead, and Three Studies ofa Baby, about 1507-8Silverpoint on cream laidpaper prepared with apink ground, 12 x 15.3cm.
Cortona's idealized head of a youth shows the extremely refined shading that is possible with blackchalk. Corton a u s e d a c o m b i n a t i o n o f parallel hatching and stumping to achieve the fine gradations ofsurface tone that give this head three-dimensional volume. Pietro Berrettini, calledPietro da Cortona(Italian, 1596-1669)Detail from Study for theHead of St. Michael, 1633Black chalk on beige laidpaper, perimetermounted to cream laidpaper, 19 x 16.8centimeters Leonard C.
Red Chalk is a naturally occurring clay that gets its red color from iron oxide (hematite). It hasbeen popula r s i n c e t h e R e n a i s s a n c e a nd can produce both sharp contours and delicate, smoothmodeling, as in this drawing by Jusepe de Ribera. Jusepe de Ribera(Spanish, 1591-1652)Detail from St. Sebastian,1626-30Red chalk with pen andbrown ink, on cream laidpaper, 17.3 x 12.4centimeters
The French term \"Trois Crayons\" (three chalks)refers to a techn i q u e u s i n g b l a c k , r e d , and whitechalk together to achieve a wide range of values,b l a c k b e i n g t h e dark e s t tone, red the middle tone,and white the lightest.This technique became especially celebratedin the drawings of Antoine Watteau, but thissheet is anexample by Watteau's mentor,Charles de La Fosse.Charles de La Fosse(French, 1636-1716)Detail from St. John theEvangelist, about 1700-2Black, red, and whitechalk on beige laidpaper, 42 x 26.2centimeters
This pen and ink drawing by Rembrandt shows theartist using hatching in a broad way. His marks arerelatively strong with the multi-directional strokesgiving a visual rhythm-rather than a refined continuoussurface--to the drawing.
Before metal was available, artists typically used quill pens made from bird feathers,and dipped the nubs in ink in order to draw.Pen lines can be loose and scratchy, as in the detail on the left, from a sheet by Fra Filippo Lippi,o r c a r e f u l a n d regular: in the next d e t a il, we see how Degas tested his pen before he drew.Fra Filippo Lippi (Italian, about 1406-1469)Detail from The Funeral of St. Stephen, about 1460Pen and brown ink with brush and brown wash andtraces of stylus over traces of black chalk,on beige laid paper lined with cream laid paper,24.9 x 19.3 centimeters
Squaring allows an artist to transfer a design, square by square, from one surface to another.Varying th e r e l a t i v e s c a l e o f t h e g r i ds allows one to change the scale of the composition during transfer.We often see it on drawings used to plan larger compositions,as in this black chalk sheet byD o m e n i c h i n o . Domenico Zampieri,called Domenichino(Italian, 1581-1641)Temperance, 1628-30Black chalkheightened withwhite chalk, squaredwith black chalk, onfour sheets (joined)of light gray laidpaper, laid down oncream laid paper,perimeter mounted toa tertiary support oflaid paper, 59.2 x43.7 centimeters
These two sheets by the French rococo artist FranÁois Boucher show his early and latestyle of drawing. He made the fountain design toward the beginning of his career,using black and white chalk to create a decorative play of forms that follow theFrench style of ornament known as rocaille. The later drawing shows a looser technique,u s i n g p e n l i n e s a nd freely b r u she d i n k w a s h e s . T he artist drew it in preparation fora d e v o t i o n a l r e l i gi o u s painting th a t h e n e v e r f i n i sh e d , and the sheet may havebeen one of the last works he completed before his death.François Boucher (French, François Boucher (French,1703-1770) 1703-1770)Fountain with Two Tritons The Presentation in the Temple,Blowing Conch Shells, about about 17701736 Pen and brown ink, brushBlack and red chalk and and brown wash, and blackblack chalk wash, chalk, heightened with whiteheightened with white paint, 12 5/8 x 7 7/8 incheschalk, 14 13/16 x 8 11/16inches
Both of these drawings are examples of a practice exercise known as the \"expressive head“(tête d'expression), in which the artist focuses in on the face and on how the features and musculature change with different emotions. The idea of studying expression developed in thelate 1600s with the French painter Charles Le Brun, who developed an entire system ford r a w i n g d i f f e r e n t emotional s t a tes. The drawing shown here by Benjamin West was directlyin s p i r e d b y L e B r u n a nd is meant to represent \"Terror.\" The red-chalk drawing by Greuze,on the other hand, is more psychologically subtle, representing a combination of shame and anger.Jean-Baptiste Greuze Benjamin West (American,(French, 1725-1805) worked in England, 1738-1820)Head of Caracalla, about Head of a Screaming Man, 17921768 Black crayon, 12 11/16 x 16 inchesRed chalk, 15 º x 11 15/16 Dudley P. Allen Fund 1967.130.ainches
The representation of social class is often an important aspect of portraiture. Here, the French artistIngres shows the wealthy Madame Raoul Rochette looking comfortable in the height of fashion,with enormous \"leg of mutton\" sleeves, her hair tightly bundled at the top of her head in a styleknown then as an \"Apollo's knot.\" Toulouse Lautrec's Laundress, on the other hand, is more ap o r t r a i t o f a t y p e than an ind i v idu a l . S h e w e a r s h er hair in a similar way to Madame Raoul Rochette, b u t h e r s l o v e n l y a p pearance and w e a r y d e m e a n o r s u ggest a life of difficult work.Jean-Auguste-Dominique Henri de Toulouse-LautrecIngres (French, 1780-1867) (French, 1864-1901)Madame Désiré Raoul- The Laundress, 1888Rochette, 1830 Black and gray wash withGraphite, 12 5/8 x 9 7/16 white paint, scratchedinches away in places, 29 7/8 x 24 13/16 inches
This pair of drawings shows two artists' interest in images of everyday life (genre scenes),but their approaches are very different. Piazzetta suggests a narrative with the use ofjust a few props—a hat, a flower—and focuses on the scene in the way a film directormight use a close-up. The idealized youths engage us with their gestures and glances,b u t i t i s u p t o u s to figure o u t the e x a c t r e l a t i o n s hips among the three. Goya, on the other hand,p r e s e n t s a m u c h m o r e direct exch a n g e — a y o u n g w o man, clearly a prostitute,solicits the attention of a fat, ugly older man.Giovanni Battista Francisco de Goya (Spanish,Piazzetta (Italian, 1746-1828)1682-1754) Prostitute Soliciting a Fat, UglyA Young Woman Buying a Man, 1796-97Pink from a Young Man, Brush and black and grayabout 1740 wash, 9 º x 5 11/16 inchesBlack crayon heightenedwith white chalk, 1613/16 x 21 5/8 inches
Georges Seurat developed an incredibly refined style of drawing using the black, waxy crayon stickmanufactured by the ContÈ company. Whereas most artists use at least some line whendrawing with crayon or chalk, Seurat found a way to vary the pressure of the tool so that thetexture of the paper picked it up in different amounts.I n t h i s w a y h e c ould develop s ubtl e t o n a l e f f e c t s . The special quality of light that results fromt h i s t e c h n i q u e w a s s omething that S e u r a t ' s f o l l o w er C h arles Angrand well understood.Building on Seurat's technique, Angrand used it to make larger, more open compositionsand often explored rural subjects, like this harvest scene.Georges Seurat (French, Charles Angrand (French,1859-1891) 1854-1926)Café-concert, 1887-88 End of the Harvest, 1890sConté crayon heightened Conté crayon, 19 3/16 xwith white chalk, 12 5/16 x 25 inches9 ¼ inches
Charles Angrand
Homer was one of the greatest practitioners ever of the watercolor medium, but his style andtechnique changed much over the course of his career.Boy with Anchor is an early work and belongs to a group he made in Gloucester, Massachusetts.Homer used graphite pencil extensively to make outlines of the composition, then filled in theseo u t l i n e s w i t h b rush and wa t e r c olo r , s o t h a t t h e y f eel tight and linear, with areas of individual color.I n t h e l a t e r w o r k , a radical concep t s h o w i n g a f i s h c a ught in mid-jump over the surface of water,he used very freely brushed and blended watercolor washes,taking advantage of the fluid quality of the medium.Winslow Homer (American, Winslow Homer (American,1836-1910) 1836-1910)Boy with Anchor, 1873 Leaping Trout, 1889Watercolor and gouache Watercolor over graphite, 13with graphite, 7 5/8 x 13 æ x 19 7/8 inches3/4 inches
The female nude was a subject that fascinated the two towering figures of twentieth-century art,Picasso and Matisse. Picasso's gouache of his mistress Fernande Olivier plays radically withspace and bodily form: her limbs, torso, and head are all stylized and reduced to simplified toshapes rooted in geometric solids. Matisse's model is in a very similar pose to Fernande and,li k e h e r , w e a r s a mask like e x p ress i o n . T h e a r t i s t placed her decoratively on the sheet,w i t h n o i n d i c a t i o n o f setting. His in t e r e s t i n p a t t e r n i s evident in the complicated folds of drapery.Pablo Picasso (Spanish, Henri Matisse (French,1881-1973) 1869-1954)Reclining Nude (Fernande), Reclining Odalisque, about1906 1923Watercolor and gouache, Graphite, 11 1/16 x 15 1/8with graphite and possibly inchescharcoal, 18 5/8 x 24 1/8inches
(Hilaire Germain) Edgar Degas (French, 1834-1917)Detail from Sheet of Studies and Sketches, 1858 Graphite (central head study), pen andbrown ink, brush and brown wash, and watercolor, on cream wove paper,30.3 x 23.5 centimeters
Testing pen
In watercolor, artists paint with colored washes made of extremely fine particles ofpigments d i s p e r s e d i n w a t e r . W a t ercolor is usually transparent and allows the white of thepaper underneath it to affect how the color appears, and this gives it its beautifullu m i n o s i t y , as i n this sheet by J.M.W. Turner.Joseph MallordWilliam Turner(British,1775-1851)Detail from Fluelen,from the Lake ofLucerne, 1845Watercolor withgouache,scratched away inplaces, on creamwove paper, 29.2x 48 centimeters
Many people think of drawings as pencilsketches or chalk doodles, limited to shades ofblack and gray, and often left unfinished orpreparatory to some bigger project. While somedrawings may indeed represent the verybeginnings of an artist's idea, others are theintended final products. The variety of worksmuseums now collect and exhibit as drawingsis great, including graphite (or pencil), pen andink, crayon, charcoal, and chalk, as well aswatercolor, gouache (an opaque watercolormedium), and pastel.An artist commissioned to produce a painting orsculpture would usually sketch large portions ofthe image, then draw numerous studies of eachfigure to get the pose, the anatomy, or thelighting just right. Other drawings were madeas showpieces, to display the artist's ability topotential clients. Drawings began to be hung onwalls and kept in albums for viewing from the18th century onward, which is about the time(with a few exceptions) artists began to signtheir drawings, too.
Pastel is made by blending dry, powdered pigments with a non-greasy liquid binding medium.The resul t i n g p a s t e i s t h e n u s u a l l y r o lled into a stick and dried. In this black chalk drawing,Millet added pastel at the request of one of his friends, who thought the work would be easiert o s e l l i f i t h a d colo r . Jean-François Millet(French, 1814-1875)Detail from First Steps,about 1858-66Black chalk and pastel,on beige laid paper,perimeter mounted tobeige wove paper, 29.5x 45.9 centimeters
Crayon has a waxy or greasy quality created by the addition of a binder to the pigment, sothe mater i a l b u i l d s u p t h i c k l y o n r a i s ed portions of the drawing surface. This quality allowedGeorges Seurat to draw using the texture of the paper. Georges Seurat (French,1859-1891)Café-concert, 1887-88Conté crayon heightenedwith white chalk, oncream modern laidpaper, 31.4 x 23.6centimeters
Gouache is similar to watercolor, but it includes the addition of a white pigment (or\"body;\" it i s o f t e n c a l l e d b o d y c o l o r ) that makes it opaque. It has a matte finish, as we seein the strokes of gouache on this masterpiece by Picasso. Pablo Picasso (Spanish,1881-1973)Detail from Head of aBoy, 1905-6Opaque matte paint,possibly tempera, onboard, laid down onwood and cradled, 24.6x 18.6 centimeters
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