Tag: graphite

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Graphite Drawing After Luca Signorelli

Graphite Pencil Drawing after a work by Luca Signorelli

Next up on the old master copy marathon, we have another work after the Italian Renaissance master Luca Signorelli, who created his drawing in red chalk and colored wash. The medium colored wash is rather vague. I can’t just go to Blick Art Supply store and ask for colored wash. It could be embarrassing. Anyway I did mine in pencil. I think like a number 2 pencil and maybe a darker one. That is rather vague as well. I have talked somewhat about Signorelli in my last post so I think I’ll write about the Museé Bonnat which houses the original drawing. According to the internet the museum is temporarily closed. Is it because of the Covid pandemic? or remodeling? or perhaps something more sinister is going on? Let’s investigate.

It could be embarrassing.

The Musée Bonnat art museum was opened in 1901 in Bayonne, Nouvelle-Aquitaine, France. It is named after the hometown painter, Léon Bonnat. Bonnat donated his collection of paintings as well as a large number of drawings to the City of Bayonne. This doesn’t explain why the museum is closed. So I consulted a 2019 entry from Wikipedia and DBpedia. The DBpedia might just copy information from Wikipedia or perhaps the other was around. Anywho, the Museé Bonnat closed it’s doors in April of 2011 for an extension renovation. The project will double the size of the art museum. It says the work will begin in early 2018 and then will open towards the end of 2019. So that explains why the museum is closed now. Wait, it does not explain that. It also doesn’t explain why the museum would close in 2011 if the renovation wasn’t going to even start until 2018. So I thought I would visit the actual Museé Bonnat website which is where I should have probably started by investigation. Apparently the museum will remain closed to the public until 2024. So if you are the public and would like to see the drawing by Signorelli you will have to wait a few more years but since you have already waited 10 years I guess is won’t seem like that much longer. If you want to see my copy, you can stop by anytime, I’ll put out some chips and salsa.

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Graphite Drawing After Signorelli

Graphite Drawing after Signorelli of Hercules and Antaeus

This next post is a graphite drawing of Hercules and Antaeus copied from a work in black chalk by Luca Signorelli. Signorelli who’s full name is Luca d’Egidio di Ventura de’ Signorelli, was referred to as Luca da Cortona because he was from, you guessed it, Cortona, Italy. According to my research, Signorelli was born sometime between 1445 and 1450. So apparently the record keeping was not very good in Cortona or women spent incredibly long periods in labor. Signorelli died in Cortona on October 16, 1523, so apparently record keeping greatly improved during his lifetime or perhaps deaths were considered more important than births. I’m not trying to judge anyone’s culture. I’m just trying to keep an open mind. I mean they know the exact date of his death but… I’m going to have to move on from this.
Luca Signorelli was known for his frescoes, most notably the series based on the end of the world in the Orvieto Cathedral. These frescoes were even praised by Michelangelo, whom he greatly admired. Signorelli worked in an intense and dramatic style. Raphael admired and was influenced by his work.

I’m just trying to keep an open mind.

Now let’s talk about Hercules and Antaeus of the ever popular Greek mythology. I have said this before but it bears repeating. I often start to doze off when I read or write or even think about any type of mythology so I’ll try to keep this brief. The giant Antaeus was the son of Gaea, the goddess of earth and Poseidon, the god of the sea. Antaeus was considered invincible due to the fact that his strength was renewed when his feet touched the ground. He would often challenge strangers to fight him. Kind of like those guys that still live at home and take martial arts classes all day then go out at night and pick fights with people. You know the type. Getting back to Mythology. One day Antaeus got into a fight with Heracles, who figured out that Antaeus got his strength from touching the earth. So Hercules lifted Antaeus from the Earth then crushed him to death. Wild stuff indeed.

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Drawing in Graphite After Pierre Paul Prud’hon

Graphite drawing of a nude woman after Pierre Paul Prud'hon

Next up on our Old Master copy marathon we have a graphite drawing after the talented draughtsman Pierre Paul Prud’hon. His drawing was done in black and white chalk. I never cared for the ‘scratchiness’ of chalk so I opted for pencils of varying darkness. The original work is 22 inches x 15 inches and mine is 12 inches x 9 inches. In fact all the old master copies I did were on 12×9 inch paper. Just in case you’re taking notes. Oh course I really only take up about 8×10 inches of the paper. Speaking of measurements, when I was growing up, teachers taught us the metric system and told us we will eventually transfer to it. Of course, they never set a date when that might occur so I guess technically they were not wrong. Enough of the tech talk, let’s talk about Pierre Paul Prud’hon.
Prud’hon was born on April 4, 1758 in Cluny, France. Which is about a 4 hour drive south from Paris. If you were walking it would take about 75 hours. So if your in Paris and want to visit Cluny, I recommend taking a car. I would make a great travel writer. I’ve never even been to Cluny, but I write about like a true native. Anyway, Pierre-Paul Prud’hon was a painter and draftsman who worked between the Neoclassical style which borrowed heavily from Ancient societies, and the Romanticism which embraced a more expressive, personal style. Prud’hon trained in Dijon, France then moved to Rome and became influenced by the work of Neoclassical artists such as the sculpture Antonio Canova and Jacques-Louis David. He made a living by painting portraits and drawing for engravers. When Napoleon Bonaparte discovered his talent, he was employed received some commissions as a decorator and portrait painter for the court. However, Prud’hon gained reputation from his allegorical paintings. Today he is admired more for his exquisite drawings.

And now for the Spanish translation courtesy of Google Translate:

A continuación, en nuestro maratón de copias de Old Master, tenemos un dibujo en grafito del talentoso dibujante Pierre Paul Prud’hon. Su dibujo fue realizado con tiza en blanco y negro. Nunca me preocupé por el “raspado” de la tiza, así que opté por lápices de diferente oscuridad. El trabajo original es de 22 pulgadas x 15 pulgadas y el mío es de 12 pulgadas x 9 pulgadas. De hecho, todas las copias maestras antiguas que hice fueron en papel de 12×9 pulgadas. Por si acaso estás tomando notas. Oh, por supuesto que en realidad solo ocupo unas 8 x 10 pulgadas del papel. Hablando de medidas, cuando yo era pequeño, los profesores nos enseñaron el sistema métrico y nos dijeron que eventualmente nos transferiremos a él. Por supuesto, nunca fijaron una fecha en la que eso podría ocurrir, así que supongo que técnicamente no se equivocaron. Basta de charlas sobre tecnología, hablemos de Pierre Paul Prud’hon. Prud’hon nació el 4 de abril de 1758 en Cluny, Francia. Que está a unas 4 horas en coche al sur de París. Si estuvieras caminando, tardarías unas 75 horas. Así que si estás en París y quieres visitar Cluny, te recomiendo que cojas un coche. Sería un gran escritor de viajes. Ni siquiera he estado en Cluny, pero escribo como un verdadero nativo. De todos modos, Pierre-Paul Prud’hon fue un pintor y dibujante que trabajó entre el estilo neoclásico, que tomó prestado en gran medida de las sociedades antiguas, y el romanticismo, que adoptó un estilo más expresivo y personal. Prud’hon se formó en Dijon, Francia, luego se mudó a Roma y recibió la influencia del trabajo de artistas neoclásicos como la escultura Antonio Canova y Jacques-Louis David. Se ganaba la vida pintando retratos y dibujando para grabadores. Cuando Napoleón Bonaparte descubrió su talento, lo contrataron recibió algunos encargos como decorador y retratista de la corte. Sin embargo, Prud’hon ganó reputación por sus pinturas alegóricas. Hoy es más admirado por sus exquisitos dibujos.

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Graphite Drawing After Leonardo da Vinci

Drawing of Male Nude After Leonardo da Vinci

So here we have a drawing done in ‘you guessed it’ graphite pencil. I’m not sure why I have to say ‘graphite’ before pencil. Pretty much all pencils are now made of graphite. There was once a time when pencils were made of lead. There was lead in paint, water pipes and gas. But since lead is toxic it was replaced. I feel sorry for the people that worked in the lead business. They were living the capitalist dream until they found out they not only were constantly exposed to a toxic substance, but they were also out of a job. I wonder if they found them both out on the same day. That would have been very unfortunate.

“I feel sorry for the people that worked in the lead business.”

Let’s get back to the above drawing. It is a copy of a drawing by Leonardo da Vinci. The original is described as ‘nude man standing back to spectator.’ As you can see that pretty much sums up what it is. As I have stated earlier, it was copied from a book on old master drawings. During the pandemic, which is still going on, I set out to copy every drawing in that book. There are 100 figure drawings. I must admit whenever I post one of these pictures I feel a bit strange. When I post a drawing of a nude women I wonder if people will think I’m some kind of pervert and if I post a drawing of a nude man then they might think I’m a gay pervert. I have also been posting these drawings on my Instagram account and I’ve been attracting some men that are, how do I put it, “light in the loafer”. Not that there is anything wrong with that. It’s a strange feeling to receive unwanted attention. This must be how a lot of women feel.

Anyway, let’s get back to the drawing. The original was done in red chalk. It is in the Royal Library located in the Windsor Castle just outside of London.

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Studies of Human and Dog Legs After Leonardo da Vinci

human and dog legs after da vinci

Here we have a drawing copied from a drawing by the man who needs no introduction, Leonardo da Vinci. There has been quite a lot written about da Vinci. So much so that I don’t really need to write more. So I guess I’ll write about myself. It is not easy for me to write about myself. This I believe is due to the fact that during my childhood and adulthood I have been surrounded by people that are always talking. And most of the time they are usually talking about themselves. I know how boring it can be to hear someone talk about themselves. However, this is a blog and since it is my blog I should write something about myself.

“So I guess I’ll write about myself.”

Let’s start as far back as possible. My sister did a DNA ancestry test and she showed it to me. Basically, I am white, I mean really white. I am 99% European and 1% Euro-Asian. I had to look up what Euro-Asian meant. And it means pretty much what it sounds like. It’s a mix of European and Asian. My grandparents on by father’s side were from Holland. My grandparents on my mother’s side were from maybe Germany or some other part of Europe. They all settled in various parts of California. My parents met when my father was studying accounting at San Diego State University. After graduating, he got a job at Disneyland in Anaheim. My brother and sister were born around there. When Disney World was about to open they all moved to Orlando. I was born in 1970. My father was with Disney for about 20 years and worked his way up to Vice President of Finance. At the time I didn’t realize he was such a big wig. Anyway we did get to visit the Magic Kingdom a lot growing up. I always found it interesting the way people look at Disney. Whenever we went, we entered from the back of the park and since my father worked in finance he always talked about the business side of Disney. It really gave me an interesting perspective on Disney. More to follow…

If you would like to see the studies for the Human Legs and the Bones of the Leg in Man and Dog by Leonardo da Vinci at the Royal Library, Windsor Click this link.

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Study for the “Raft of the Medusa” After Théodore Géricault

Graphite Pencil Drawing After Gericault

The drawing above is a copy. Are you starting to catch on that there are a lot of posts of old master copies? That’s because during the covid pandemic, I started to copy all the drawings out of a book of old master drawings in hopes of improving my drawing skills as well as kill a lot of time.

Let’s get back to the drawing at hand. It is a graphite sketch after the great French Romantic painter Théodore Géricault. The original is a study for one of the figures of Géricault’s masterpiece “Raft of the Medusa” which hangs in the Louvre Museum in Paris. The drawing itself is in the Musée des Beaux Arts in Besançon, France.

Let’s talk about the painting “Raft of the Medusa.” It was not a commissioned piece which was unusual for a 19 century work this large (16′ 1″ x 23′ 6″). The painting can be categorized as a history painting but instead of honoring a triumph it captures a tragedy. The subjects of his work are not heroic solders or mythological gods but the victims and survivors of a shipwreck. After their ship ran aground. The survivors cobbled together a raft and in their 2 weeks at sea, eventually had to resort to cannibalism in order to survive. Out of the 147 passengers only 15 survived. The captain was blamed for the shipwreck since he had not even sailed for 20 years prior and was apparently only given the position based on his connection to those in power. Anyone who has worked for a family run company understands the situation. Not of the shipwreck but of nepotism.

“Anyone who has worked for a family run company understands the situation.”

Géricault did a lot of research and made many sketches in order to create his monumental painting. He even consulted with 2 of the survivors, made a scale model of the raft and in order to better capture the look of the dead and dying, he would visit morgues and hospitals.

After a year and a half of work, the painting was shown at the 1819 Paris Salon. It received both praise and criticism. It is now considered a masterpiece of French Romantic art and has influenced many great artists.

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Graphite Drawing of the Three Graces After Raphael

Copy of The Three Graces by Raphael

The image in this blog post is a copy in graphite pencil of a Raphael drawing originally done in red chalk. The subject is “The Three Graces”. In Raphael’s drawing there are three nude figures representing, you guessed it, The Three Graces. I only drew two. Why did I only draw two? Because Raphael is Raphael and I am me. Raphael was a great artist and I am, like I said before, myself, that of which I am. At this point I would say something self deprecating like; I ain’t no Raphael but today I need to conserve as much self confidence as possible. So let us talk about The Three Graces. I must warn you up front that whenever I try to learn about Greek Mythology my brain shuts down. I mean like I have to lie down and take a nap in the fetal position type of breakdown. So in the interest of both of us I will basically just cut and paste whatever information I come across.

“She glows like a EcoSmart Light Bulb.”

The Three Graces, also called Charites, come from Greek mythology. In his work “Theogony” Hesiod describes three Graces. So let me introduce to you, the reader, the Three Graces.

First off we have Aglaea. She represents Radiance. She glows like a EcoSmart Light Bulb. I am neither endorsed or have any professional or personal relationship with the EcoSmart brand. I was just trying to be clever.

Next up we have Euphrosyne. She represents “Joy”. She is basically the Selective Serotonin Re-uptake Inhibitor (antidepressant) of the ancient world. Her side effects might include:
• Nausea, vomiting or diarrhea
• Headache
• Drowsiness
• Dry mouth
• Insomnia
• Nervousness, agitation or restlessness
• Dizziness

The last but not certainly least grace, even though that is probably the one I left out in the drawing, is Thalia. She is a Mexican singer, businesswoman, and former actress. Born in Mexico City, she first achieved recognition as a member of the successful pop group Timbiriche from 1986 through 1989. Wait that’s the wrong Thalia. Anyway, she represents Flowering. Her parents were Zeus and Eurynome. I’m starting to get sleepy. That’s all for now.

Click here to see the drawing of the Three Graces by Raphael Sanzio.

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Graphite Drawing After Jacopo Bertoia

Drawing after Bertoia / Bertora of 2 females

Here we have “studies of two female nudes seen from the back”. It is a copy of a drawing done by Jacopo Bertoia, who was also known as Jacopo Zanguidi or Giacomo Zanguidi or Bertoja. The original was completed sometime around 1565 – 1570 in red chalk and can be found at the National Gallery of Scotland, Edinburgh. If you go to Wikipedia to research Bertoia, you will be sadly disappointed. There is not a whole lot of information on him. In fact, half the page just lists all the names he was called. Bertoia was born in Parma, Italy and studied under Sabatini. The artist Sabatini, not Gabriela Beatriz Sabatini who was professional tennis player from Argentina and not Rafael Sabatini who was an Italian-English writer but the artist Lorenzo Sabbatini, who was also went by the name of Lorenzino da Bologna or Sabatini, Sabattini or Sabadini. All these different names are getting to be a little much. So let’s just move on. Jacopo Bertoia was greatly influenced by another Italian painter by the name of Parmigianino. He worked in the Mannerist style, which differed from the High Renaissance style by having more expressive and exaggerating proportions thereby making the work seem less balanced and harmonious. Parmigianino, whose full name was, wait for it… are you ready… Girolamo Francesco Maria Mazzola.

“But wait, there’s more.”

But wait, there’s more. He was also known as Francesco Mazzola but mostly is known by the name, Parmigianino. He could have shortened the name to ‘Parm’, like waiters shorten “Eggplant Parmesan” to “Eggplant Parm”. There could be reason for all these name mix ups. The artist might have originally wanted others to call them by their full name, however, people ignored such requests and came up with their own variation of the artists name. This is all really just a theory. In other instances, such as in the case of Lorenzo Sabbatini, since was from Bologna was called Lorenzino da Bologna. Which either made him proud to be from Bologna or permanently branded him as an outsider wherever he went. I guess I could go by Bradley Georgio de Orlando, which I must admit sounds pretty cool.

To see Jacopo Bertoia’s drawing “Studies of Two Female Nudes, seen from the Back” click here.

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Drawing Copied from Bronzino, Who Copied it from Bandinelli

Female Nude Pencil Drawing

The above drawing is a copy of a work by the Italian artist Agnolo Bronzino. He is usually known by just Bronzino. Because, how many well known artists have the last name of Bronzino? Maybe 12 or 20. So it is not too confusing just to call him Bronzino. According to my research, the original was done in the 16th century. Which is seems rather vague. Bronzino lived between 1503 – 1572 so saying the drawing was done in the 16th century is a safe bet. Like many Italian Renaissance works, it was done in black chalk. I do not care for the scratchy-ness of chalk, so I did mine in pencil. A regular number 2 pencil and a darker one. Maybe a 4B or 6B. The number is for the darkness of the graphite and the letter “B” means soft. An “H” would signify a hard graphite. So to help you remember: H for Hard and B for… never mind. Bronzino’s drawing is actually a copy of a sculpture done by another 16th century Renaissance artist, Bartolommeo Bandinelli. The sculpture is of Cleopatra.

“I do not care for the scratchy-ness of chalk.”

So let’s sum up what we have covered so far. I copied a Bronzino drawing that was copied from a Bandinelli sculpture. Bartolommeo Bandinelli was a “Florentine Mannerist” and was greatly influenced by Donatello. Bandelli became a much celebrated sculptor until he was overshadowed by Michelangelo. Agnolo Bronzino was influenced by Jacopo da Pontormo, whom I talked about in previous posts. Bronzino and Pontormo also worked together on the decorations for two churches in Florence, Italy. As opposed to the city Florence in Kentucky or the ten other cities in America named Florence. Bronzino borrowed Pontormo’s expressive mannerist style and then created a his own clean linear style. His art was also influenced somewhat by Michelangelo as well as the later works of Raphael.

The drawing I copied of Cleopatra from Bronzino can be found in the Fogg Museum at Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts.