Saturday 10 April 2010




Research point on pentimenti and restatements:



“Pentimento” is a term used more often in painting than in drawing, referring to the appearance of an underdrawing, an altered portion of a painting, or a previous painting from beneath the finished painting’s surface, because of wear, chemical phenomena, or aging, or such changes detected by technical methods such as radiography or infra-red reflectometry. The term as used in drawing would refer to an erroneous line or passage left in place, and is so closely related to “restatement” as to make the two terms difficult to separate. Restatements are often “thought lines;” the presence of a less desirable line is often a useful guide as to the placement of a more correct one. Frequently seen in old masters’ drawings, pentimenti and restatements may also reflect the relative non-erasability of the media often employed, as well as the non-availability of any usable eraser other than fresh bread, resulting in the retention of these lines. I have included three drawings by Leonardo da Vinci, and one each by Durer, Raphael, Giulio Romano and Perino del Vaga to illustrate the concepts.

Course work: Finding an expansive landscape with an open view in all directions has proved a challenge: I have compromised on a site with a good view in three directions and a twenty-foot walk for a view in the fourth. Today, using my compass for orientation and my viewfinder for selection, I drew the views to the north and east. The view to the north is crossed by the graveled driveway, and has grass, shrubs, and a small pine to the right, with larger trees across the driveway. The view to the east includes an electric pole, part of a paddock fence ascending and descending a gentle rise, and a distant wall of pines. Parenthetically, fifteen minutes is not enough time to do more than loosely sketch in the major details, and this exercise seems quite similar to the sketchbook walk, but with less walking.

Reading:



Christopher Brown Dutch Painting

Phaidon Press Limited, London, 1976

Pp3-14 + 48 color plates

(A fairly superficial text, offset by the large and well-selected group of color plates)



Personal sketchbook work: Found several small stands of wild violets while I was out wandering around: brought one home to sketch with colored pencils in my pocket sketchbook.

Total time: 2 hours 13 minutes