| This back view of the famous Hellenistic work attributed to Epigonos is in the Museo Romano at the Palazzo ALTEMPS in Rome. The two-figure composition seems to spiral from the center and may be seen as an ensemble of triangular forms or as a set of "force line" diagonals that seem to hinge from the window box of the overall subject in a beautifully harmonious manner. (CLICK here to read more about the piece.) |
| Gaul committing suicide with his wife pen and ink 11" x 8" Private collection |
| The artistic process: The power of preliminary sketches |
| home about the artist oil paintings fresco paintings panels and murals black & white works pastels, colored pencil, and gouache portraits classes writings contact the artist |
| Toroazul Painting and Fine Arts |
| The images to the left show three 4-minute croquis or thumbnail gestural views of the same sculpture. In these quick views I try to capture the feeling or gesture of the subjects and to lay them into the drawing page or window in a manner that brings out the lines of force of the figures. |
The above pencil drawing of Saint Andrew comes from one of
several Roman sketchbooks that I have filled with such studies
since I came to this city in August 2008. I sketched this figure
inside St. Peter's Basilica, from a 17th-century statue sculpted
by Duquesnoy which stands inside a niche in one of the four
main piers surrounding the main altar. To me, one of the most
compelling aspects of this particular subject is the way the
geometrical X-shape of the cross of Andrew's martyrdom spans
the space and essentially lays out the axes of the composition
while cradling or holding, as it were, the more
emotional/gestural pencil curves expressing the feeling of
surrender that I see in Duqnesnoy's statue.
While I drew this image, I appreciated the passages in Leonardo
da Vinci's journals where he insists that it is essential to draw
not only right proportions and chiaroscuro but especially the
human figure in its expression of emotions. All too often,
modern-day artists or teachers of drawing, particularly in
architecture courses, categorically state that geometry and right
proportions have absolutely nothing to do with feeling and that
students of architecture have little or nothing to learn from
drawing human figure or sculptures like those of this Saint
Andrew.
several Roman sketchbooks that I have filled with such studies
since I came to this city in August 2008. I sketched this figure
inside St. Peter's Basilica, from a 17th-century statue sculpted
by Duquesnoy which stands inside a niche in one of the four
main piers surrounding the main altar. To me, one of the most
compelling aspects of this particular subject is the way the
geometrical X-shape of the cross of Andrew's martyrdom spans
the space and essentially lays out the axes of the composition
while cradling or holding, as it were, the more
emotional/gestural pencil curves expressing the feeling of
surrender that I see in Duqnesnoy's statue.
While I drew this image, I appreciated the passages in Leonardo
da Vinci's journals where he insists that it is essential to draw
not only right proportions and chiaroscuro but especially the
human figure in its expression of emotions. All too often,
modern-day artists or teachers of drawing, particularly in
architecture courses, categorically state that geometry and right
proportions have absolutely nothing to do with feeling and that
students of architecture have little or nothing to learn from
drawing human figure or sculptures like those of this Saint
Andrew.