Tag: pencil

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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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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.

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Graphite Drawing of Risen Christ After Michelangelo

Copy of Michelangelo Drawing

Here is a graphite pencil drawing after Michelangelo titled “The Risen Christ”. The original was drawn in black chalk around 1532. It is part of the Royal Collection Trust in the United Kingdom. There are over one million articles in the collection which includes 150,000 works on paper. Apparently, it is all owned by Queen Elizabeth II. Most of the old master drawings where acquired by King George III. The original drawing might have been done as a finished work of art rather than a preparatory sketch. I would assume it is not to hard to find this drawing by Michelangelo in the Royal Collection. Because of it’s importance it must be on display in a conspicuous place. I would hate to think that is hidden in a large pile of 150,000 pieces of paper. But then again if the Queen owns so many items then she just might be a hoarder. In that case there might be several large cardboard boxes of drawings jammed into the Royal garage or perhaps stored up in the Buckingham Palace attic.

“I would hate to think that is hidden in a large pile of 150,000 pieces of paper.”

Moving on, I came across an interesting quote by Michelangelo regarding drawing. “The science of design, or of line-drawing, is the source and very essence of painting, sculpture, architecture. Sometimes it seems that all the works of the human brain and hand are either design itself or a branch of that art.” He also said “Draw, Antonio; draw, Antonio; draw and don’t waste time.” So as you can see, drawing is very important. I would assume that it is important for many people and not just Antonio. But the fact that he singled out Antonio means that drawing is even more important for Antonio. Unfortunately Michelangelo destroyed a lot of his drawings so others wouldn’t see how he developed his work. Here are a couple of more quotes to ponder “If you knew how much work went into it, you wouldn’t call it genius.” And “If people knew how hard I worked to get my mastery, it wouldn’t seem so wonderful at all.”

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Graphite Drawing After Benvenuto Cellini

Benvenuto Cellini Copy

Here we go again with another copy of another Italian Renaissance master. This time it is Benvenuto Cellini. The drawing I copied is in the National Gallery of Art in Washington DC. The good news is that it free to visit. The bad news is that this particular drawing is not on view. It was made black chalk with brown ink and wash on laid paper. I drew mine with graphite pencils on Strathmore paper. It is titled “A Satyr”. In the book I’m copying it from, it is titled “Drawing of a Satyr for the Portal of Fontainebleau.” I searched for the “Portal of Fontainebleau” and I got very lost. I was hoping to find something I could write about.

I shall write about Benvenuto Cellini. Mr. Cellini was born on November 3, 1500 and died on February 13, 1571. Besides writing his famous autobiography, he was also a goldsmith, draftsman, sculptor and painter. Cellini was an important artist in the style of Mannerism. This style of art separated itself from the calm and orderly art of the High Renaissance by distorting its subjects to add tension and drama. He also wrote poetry, as well as treatises on goldsmithing and casting in bronze. It would be great if he wrote about drawing then I could just copy and paste it into this blog.

“I was hoping to find something I could write about.”

Anyway, reading Cellini’s autobiography is a good way to learn about him. I listened to it on audiobook a long time ago so I don’t really remember it, which is unfortunate because then I could write about that. I think I’ll write about some of the reviews for his autobiography I found on Amazon. “An intriguing look into an artist’s life in Renaissance Italy” said Jack. David says he read this book over 50 years ago in college. I like that review because it makes me feel young. Reviewer MickJazz says the book was recommended to him by a designer from Ohio. I listened to it on audiobook. I can’t remember if someone recommended it or not.

Here is a garden variety link to see Benvenuto Cellini’s Drawing of a Satyr for the Portal of Fontainebleau.