Art in FocusChapter 17:
Fifteenth-Century Art in Northern EuropeAdditional Studio ProjectsEXPANDING DETAIL DRAWINGComplete a highly detailed and precise pencil drawing by starting with a small detail found on an interesting and intricate object. Your drawing will expand in all directions from this starting point until it runs off the paper on all sides. A complex assortment of values, shapes, lines, and textures will illustrate every detail as accurately as possible.
INSPIRATIONStudy closely the paintings by Jan van Eyck and Rogier van der Weyden illustrated in this chapter. Are you inclined to like pictures like these? If so, why do you like them? What did both of these artists do to make their pictures look so lifelike? What new painting technique enabled them to do this?
WHAT YOU WILL NEED- Pencil
- White drawing paper, 9 × 12 inches or larger
WHAT YOU WILL DO- Bring to class an interesting and complicated object to draw. Among the things you might consider are a kitchen appliance; an old, laced boot; a kerosene lantern; a piece of complex machinery.
- Beginning at or near the center of your paper, draw one part of the object as accurately as possible. Maintain precision as you add each new detail to the drawing, allowing it to “grow” in all directions until it reaches all four edges of the paper. The shapes, lines, and textures in your drawing should be complex, reflecting your effort to illustrate the intricate nature of the object you are drawing. Use both abrupt and gradual changes of value to suggest three-dimensional forms and show shadows. Draw slowly and carefully, creating on paper what your eye observes after a close examination of every detail in the object before you.
- Exhibit your drawing, along with those by other members of your class.
EVALUATING YOUR WORKDescribe Is your drawing accurate and precise in every detail? Does it look like the object you selected to draw? Point to the detail on this object that you used as your starting point.
Analyze Did you use a complex assortment of values, shapes, lines, and textures in your drawing? Do these elements contribute to the realistic appearance you were seeking?
Interpret What adjective would you use to describe your drawing? What adjectives do others use when describing your drawing?
Judge Limiting yourself to a consideration of the literal qualities only, is your drawing successful? What was the most important thing you learned from this studio experience?
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