A Look at Ingres' Drawings

From Art Renewal.org

Yesterday, we looked at some of the work of the Fauves- the "wild beasts," as they were called.

Today, I thought it would be great to look at some drawings that show control and ingenuity- the work of Jean Dominique Ingres.

clipped from www.artrenewal.org

Jean Auguste Dominique
Ingres
French Neoclassical painter, engraver, draftsman, printmaker & violinist
born 29 August 1780 - died 14 January 1867
Born in: Montauban (Tarn-et-Garonne, Midi-Pyrénées, France).
Died in: Paris (Département de Ville de Paris, Ile-de-France, France).

I studied Ingres when I was in college, and at the time, didn't fully appreciate the beauty of his drawings. One of my drawing professors was fairly obsessed with the work of Ingres, and I grew tired of trying to "draw like Ingres" every day (ha! as if I could...) At any rate, I did come away from those life drawing sessions with an appreciation of how to integrate good linework with a sense of form.

I think what I love about Ingres' drawings the most is the finished/unfinished quality they have. His drawings were primarily done as studies for his larger paintings, but personally, I enjoy looking at the drawings more than I do the paintings, because of the quality of the line, and how he was able to integrate the areas of the finished and unfinished so that the drawing looks complete.

clipped from www.myamericanartist.com

Portrait of Madame d’Haussonville ca. 1842–1845, graphite, 9 3⁄16 x 7¾. Collection the Fogg Art Museum at Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts. At this point, Ingres had settled on the composition and squared the sketch for transfer.

I thought that today, in our sketchbooks, it would be great to draw something that is both finished and unfinished. Try to work on the drawing as a whole, so that it looks purposeful that you left parts unfinished.

Pay attention to the thinness and thickness of your pencil line. Lighten up the pressure to almost nothing as you render an edge where the light is hitting the subject. Make your line heavy and dark as it goes into the shadow. Look carefully at some of the examples of Ingres' drawings, and see if your drawing is helped by following some of the way he worked.

I have uploaded one of my own drawings as well, below. Give it a try!

WDE Painting- Fauve style

Here is my one hour painting, inspired from one of deepat's photographs of this weekend's Weekly Drawing Event.

Here is the original photograph, from the WDE, hosted by deepat this past weekend

If you read my previous two posts, you can learn more about Wetcanvas and their WDE or Weekly Drawing Event that is hosted each weekend by one of its members.

In my last post, I talked a bit about the Fauves and their wild color palette and bold way of painting, and I encouraged you to walk in the footsteps of the Fauves to day and try out a Fauve-inspired style that you can incorporate into your own work.

Below, are a few of my steps along the way- my art table set up, with the original reference photo above my watercolor paper, and two Fauve painting copies on either side- one by Braques and one by Vlaminck (The Circus- shown in post just befor this one).

I also snapped a picture of my palette set-up, my gesture underpainting, and the painting at the 30 minute point.

I'd love to see your work, if you attempted this (or any previous work inspired by the daily posts here). Just fill out the contact form on the right, and I'll get right back to you!

Weekly Theme- Learn from the Masters

Today starts the beginning of a new theme! I thought it would be fun to go back to our sketchbooks this week, and look at the work of a particular artist each day, trying out some of their techniques in our own work. What works in their art, and what doesn't? You are the master now, so take the things you like and leave the rest!

I just watched a documentary last night on Ovation- the arts cable station. It focused on the friendship that grew between Picasso and Matisse, and I was reminded of Matisse and the Fauve movement. Since we are just coming off of a week spent examining what contributes to "life" in art, I thought it wold be fun to look at a Fauve painter first. They were known as the "wild beasts" and definitely knew how to stir some vibrancy into their work! Perhaps we can follow in their footsteps today.

I found one painting by Maurice Vlaminck- the wildest beast of all-in the Wikipedia Commons, a public domain collection of 10,000 works of art. The painting above, titled The Circus, by Maurice Vlaminck, is a typical Fauve work- bright, crazy color, big daubs of paint, and an energistic delivery. Here is a link to another great painting of Vlaminck to illustrate his technique. It is even more colorful than The Circus, but since I am not sure of the copyright status, I will link you there to take a look.

I thought today, you might like to start off the week by painting or drawing in the Fauve style- go grazy with the color! Make big blobby strokes and broad areas of color! Add decorative flourishes! But don't lose sight of the strength of a good composition, and the ways the light and dark areas interact.

I sooooo wanted to participate in the WDE on Wetcanvas! yesterday, but got too involved with some art that I need to turn in for a show by Wednesday this week, and didn't get to it (boo hoo, sniff sniff). But I am devoting 30 minutes today to interpreting one of the WDE photos offered this week, and will pretend I am a Fauve while doing it- AND I will upload it to the post to share with you here and on the WDE forum as well. How about you? What will you work on today?

If you have some artwork that you'd like me to share here, just use the contact form on the right to let me know about it, and I will get back in touch and tell you how to get it to me. I set up the contact form to keep the automated spammers away, but I don't want to keep YOU away, and I'd love to see your work. If you agree, I'd also love to post it here in a related topic for others to see and be inspired by it.

I hope you have fun with this jaunt with the Fauves today. Just do something bold and quick. The idea is to do something every day if you can, to keep art an integral part of your life. Don't labor over it, just make it a fun and easy sketch or quick painting!

Now, I'm off to do MY Fauve painting......