"Durer to de Kooning" Master Drawings at the Morgan Library

It was a pleasure to view the “Durer to de Kooning, 100 Master Drawings from Munich” exhibition at the Morgan Library in New York.  The Morgan is a wonderful, intimate museum and often features master drawings exhibitions.

Those of you who follow my blog known I have a passionate interest in master drawings.  I enjoy looking, studying and copying them.  I enjoy using master drawings techniques in my work. Since I have been using pen, ink and wash, charcoal, and red chalk as of late I decided to focus on drawings in the exhibition that utilize these materials.

All the drawings in this exhibition were truly masterful and compelling in their own way.  The ones I was most attracted to were done in a rapid visualization style and showcase an energetic rather than meticulous style.   Jacopo Pontormo’s (1494-1557) red chalk drawing Two Standing Women, (1530) is stunning for its sense of animation and confident three dimensional rendering.  I love the way Pontormo suggests the fluidity of the gowns without over rendering.  This short hand of line allows the viewer to wonder and speculate about who these women are.

                 Red chalk drawing Two Standing Women by Jacopo Pontormo, 1530.

Pietro da Cortona (1596-1669), whose anatomical drawings I have long admired, surprised me with this dynamic pen and ink and wash portrayal of Age of Bronze: Design for a Mural in the Pitti Palace, (1641). As you can see from the finished fresco, Cortona worked out many of the compositional elements in this initial sketch.  A pentimento by Cortona can be seen in the upper right hand corner.

                       Pen and ink drawing Age of Bronze by Pietro da Cortona, 1641.

                            Fresco Age of Bronze by Pietro da Cortona, 1641.

Rembrandt’s (1606-1669) pen, ink and brush drawings have an energy mirrored by his brushstrokes and layering of paint!  In his rapid sketch Saskia Lying in Bed, A Woman at Her Feet (1638) the focus is on Saskia (Rembrandt's wife) and her contemplative facial expression.  She is drawn with delicate, decisive pen lines, while the bedroom and maid are loosely described with swift brushstrokes.

 Pen, ink and brush drawing, Saskia Lying in Bed, A Woman at Her Feet by Rembrandt, 1638. 

The pen and ink drawing Adoration of the Magi (1610) by Jacques Bellange (1575-1616) displays lively networks of hatched and crosshatched lines, which draw the viewer’s eye around this forceful drawing! 

         Pen and ink drawing, Adoration of the Magi by Jacques Bellange, 1610.

I wish I could share all 100 drawings with you!  I highly recommend the exhibition catalog by William M. Griswold and Michael Semff. And an excursion to the Morgan Library, always a delight!

“Color Line Light” Drawing exhibition at the National Gallery of Art

Yesterday I saw the new drawing exhibition, “Color, Line, Light,French Drawings, Watercolors and Pastels from Delacroix to Signac” at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, DC. The show was organized with Musée des Impressionnismes, Giverny and is on view in Washington, DC until May 26, 2013.

A wonderful antidote for the doldrums of winter this exhibition includes an impressive array of drawings, many in full color, from the mid 19^th century to the early 20^th century.  The 100 works, from the collection of James T. Dyke, show off many brilliant drawing techniques and subject matters ranging from landscape, still life to figures and portraits. Indeed this exhibition will make you reach for neglected art materials and experiment!

          Paul Signac, Barges on the Seine at Samois, 1900, Watercolor and gouache.

The drawing techniques showcased in this broadly ranging show includes watercolor, gouache, pen and ink, charcoal, pastel and mixed medium. The periods of art represented include romanticism, realism, impressionism, postimpressionism, pointillism (neoimpressionism), symbolism and the Nabis.

                                   Paul Huet, A Meadow at Sunset, pastel.

Watercolor techniques range from the tightly rendered paintings of Alexandre Calame, the confident brushwork of Gustave Dore, to the fresh and freely painted pointillist works by Paul Signac.

                     Gustave Dore, A River Gorge in a Mountain Landscape, watercolor.

Charcoal drawings range from a luminous figure study by Albert Besnard to the dark, ominous, tonal work of Charles Angrand and sensitive realism of Leon Augustin Lhermitte.

Leon Augustin Lhermitte, An Elderly Peasant Women, charcoal.

The show features the use of pastels, which in the 19^th century became a favored medium by many artists thanks to the development of richer pigmented chalk pastels.  Paul Huet uses a bright palette to layer color in describing a meadow at sunset.  While Auguste Louis Lepere uses an analogous palette of pastels to draw a pastoral scene.

                Auguste Louis Lepere, Chestnut Trees above a River, 1900, pastel.

It is often thought that the impressionist artists didn’t create many drawings as they painted spontaneously from life. This show offers many opportunities to see impressionist works on paper. An atmospheric pastel drawing by Claude Monet was done in London while he waited for his oils paints to arrive. Edgar Degas is one of many impressionist artists who enjoyed drawing techniques.  The exhibition includes a few masterful drawings by Degas they are inspired in their use of the compositional space and in there animated effects.

                       Edgar Degas, A Dancer at the Bar, charcoal and white chalk.

I recommend an excursion to the National Gallery of Art to see this inspired exhibition.  I also recommend the exhibition catalog.

Drawing the Figure with Pen and Ink

I am taking a class at the Art League in Alexandria, Virginia with instructor Robert Liberace. Liberace is an accomplished painter, sculptor and draughtsman. The class, “Figure and Portrait: A Modern Approach to Classical Drawing”, explores drawing the figure through master techniques, such as silverpoint, pen and ink, charcoal, red chalk and graphite.  I hope to post on these various techniques in the coming weeks.

                             Robert Liberace, Figure Study in pen and ink, 2012.

The past two weeks we have been using pen and ink with watercolor washes to create a three dimensional drawing of the figure.  Pen and ink, using flexible nibs, allows the artist to create energetic, dynamic sketches. Rembrandt’s pen and ink drawings, characterized by his calligraphic line, are great examples of this technique.

          Rembrandt van Rijn Woman Having Her Hair Combed, pen and ink, 1637

Pen and ink can also be used for longer more detailed studies.  It was a favored medium of Michelangelo, Leonardo, Durer and many other masters. Liberace recommends using a slightly textured text weight paper such as Twinrocker in “Calligraphy Cream”.  To add warmth to the paper he coats it with a light watercolor wash using yellow ochre or raw sienna. Since pen and ink is an unforgiving medium (erasing is difficult if not impossible) most artists begin with a simple pencil sketch of their subject. 

                Michelangelo Buonarroti, Studies of the Holy Family, pen and ink, 1505.

When ready to start drawing Liberace recommends using a sepia ink, such as seen in master drawings, with flexible nibs. The nibs allow the artist to create lines that go from thick to line as pressure is put on the nib. Rob also uses Micron technical pens as he draws. Technical pens (which store their ink in the pen) allow for a more consistent line.

                        Marie Dauenheimer, Figure Study, pen and ink, 2013.

I highly recommend experimenting with his wonderful medium!

Topics for 2013

Happy New Year!  As we begin the new year I have been brainstorming about blogging topics for 2013.  I was in New York for a few days and I plan on blogging about some amazing exhibitions I saw and plan on visiting.  Among them are the “Bernini, Sculpting in Clay” and “Matisse: True Painting” at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. 

Bernini's terracotta sculpture model for the "Lion on Four Rivers Fountain" 1649-50. From the  exhibition at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

The “Beatrix Potter, The Picture Letters” and “Durer to de Kooning” exhibitions at the Morgan Library are worth discussion and exploration.  The Frick’s “Mantegna to Matisse, Master Drawings from the Courtauld Gallery” and MoMA’s “Inventing Abstraction” look fascinating.  The National Gallery of Art’s upcoming French drawing exhibition “Color, Line, Light: French Drawings, Watercolors, and Pastels from Delacroix to Signac” is much anticipated for it’s varied collection.

Pastel drawing by Auguste Louis Lepere, 1900.  From exhibition "Color, Line, Light: French Drawings from Delacroix to Signac" at the National Gallery of Art.

 I plan on continuing to blog about master drawing techniques , such as pen and ink and wash and red chalk.  As I prepare my 2014 Vesalius Trust“Art and Anatomy” tour to Greece and Italy I will continue to blog about Andreas Vesalius whose 500^th anniversary is next year! To reflect the focus of my blog I have added "Art and Anatomy" to my title.

Pen and ink drawing by Jacques Bellange, 1610. From the "Durer to de Kooning" exhibition at the Morgan Library.

Thanks for reading, commenting and joining me on my art and anatomy travels! 

Durer and Beyond, Central European Drawings, 1400-1700

In August while at the Metropolitan Museum of Art I saw two amazing drawings exhibitions.  One, which I blogged about last week, featured the plant drawings of minimalist Ellsworth Kelly.  These drawings were so beautiful and elegant for their simple use of line and negative and positive shape.

The “Durer and Beyond” exhibition featured many drawings also created with line.  Albrecht Durer’s energetic ink lines with layers of hatching and crosshatching were a great contrast to the Kelly drawings!

Albrecht Durer, (1471-1528) of Nuremberg, Germany, is regarded as the greatest artist of the Northern Renaissance.  While still in his twenties Durer became famous for his woodcuts, such as “Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse”.  He went on to create many masterful paintings, but his drawings are among his most famous works.  Amid his most revered pieces are “The Great Piece of Tuft”, “The Praying Hands” and “Wing of a Roller”  Many of these drawings are in the Albertina in Vienna.

          Albrecht Durer, pen and ink on prepared paper, "The Praying Hands", 1508

                      Albrecht Durer, watercolor and gouache, "Wing of a Roller", 1518

Throughout his life Durer was known for his detailed and complex self-portraits.  The exhibition drawing below “Self Portrait and Studies of the Artist’s Left Hand and a Pillow” features such a self-portrait with it’s penetrating gaze.  On the verso of this drawing is a series of whimsical drawings of a pillow.  The series almost reads like an animation!

Albrecht Durer, pen and ink, "Self Portrait and Studies of the Artist's Left Hand and a Pillow", 1493

                              Albrecht Durer, pen and ink, "Six Studies of a Pillow", 1493

The exhibition featured 100 drawings created between 1400-1700 by artists from Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Czech Republic among others.  A charming study of a hedgehog by Hans Hoffman (1530-1592) created with watercolor and gouache, highlights this artist’s love of observing nature down to the smallest detail!

                          Hans Hoffman, watercolor and gouache drawing of a hedgehog, 1584

If you enjoy looking at master drawings there are two current exhibitions that you might want to visit.  "The Mantegna to Matisse” exhibition at the Frick Collection, will be up through January 27, 2013 and the “Durer to de Kooning: 100 Master Drawings from Munich” is on view through January 6, 2013 at the Morgan Library.  I plan on blogging about both these exhibitions.

Figure Drawing Class with Robert Liberace , Pen, Ink and Brush

In figure drawing class with Robert Liberace we experimented with using pen, ink and brush to create spontaneous studies of the figure. Rob did a demo using sepia ink (made from the ink from cuttlefish) with pen and brush. Starting with a quick pencil sketch to block in the figure, he moves to pen and ink . Using a nib that responds to pressure Rob scribbles and hatches in the figure. His lines are calligraphic and spontaneous. Using a brush and ink he draws the shadows and adds accents. This technique is best done on a small scale and using paper such as Fabriano Ingres (which has a good amount of sizing).



Robert Liberace demonstrates using brush and ink to draw the figure.
Photo by Marie Dauenheimer.



Finished figure study. Photo by Marie Dauenheimer.



Woman Sleeping by Rembrandt, ink and brush.



Another Rembrandt sketch using pen, ink and brush.