Leonardo and Paul Bartlett -2 masters of detailed drawing

Leonardo da Vinci

Leonardo (1452-1519)

A renowned master, Leonardo showed talent for drawing at an early age and was apprenticed to a studio in Florence. Apart from drawing wide ranging subjects Leonardo is famous also for his designs and inventions which together  show his genius. Apart from drawing he was, too, a scientist, sculptor and teacher.

At the time of the Renaissance drawings were not valued in themselves but were seen as a means to an end. Leonardo's sketchbooks and notebooks show an unlimited curiosity in the world around him as he made copious notes.

Media

Apparently Leonardo combined media and would use charcoal, chalk, metalpoint, pen and ink,  a damp brush for shading and white chalk for highlights. His most significant usage was pen and ink on unprepared paper.
Chalk was favoured for landscapes or he used  pen and ink. For human heads and hands he would use red chalk on pink paper. Paper was an expensive commodity at this time and Leonardo crammed as much use as he could into each page.

The quill pen that he would use was sharpened with a knife and could be used to make a broad down stroke and a finer up or side stroke.

To his line, tonal washes were sometimes added to emphasise detail but this wash was kept lighter than the shading line. Similarly subtle tones were created with a damp brush to chalk drawings whereas drapery folds were shown with deep black.

Metalpoint is used on a prepared ground and the work is drawn by going over the same line frequently. It cannot be erased but nor does it smudge and this method was used by students who once they had finished a piece would reground the support for a fresh drawing. Silverpoint turns to a deep brown over time so is not similar to graphite.

Movement

Many of Leonardo's drawing convey movement and this is obvious in these works below.

Christ figure

 

  Star of Bethlehem

 Both these drawings show the use of spirals which figure often in his work and convey great energy. Line was a fundamental part of Leonardo's technique and he made great use of hatching either in straight or curved lines as well as crosshatching. In some works it's possible to see the effect of bringing a line from the background across the contour of the subject in front which helps to distance that part of the subject matter and thus create distance.

Leonardo wrote six books on light and shade and the use of perspective reached a peak during his lifetime. Foreshortening and aerial perspective, whereby  colour diminishes as distance increases and less focus or clarity is shown on background objects in proportion to depth required, was brought into his work.

Leonardo was not shy of using rulers to draw perspective lines and to square up a piece of paper. Some of his work show the measurements that were put beside subject matter.

 

 

Many drawings evidence the painstaking detail undertaken by this man.

 

Finally, regarding chiaroscuro, light /dark shading, many of his works show a soft blend of shadows rather than an extreme and it has been written that he coined the term sfumato, to suggest that changes in tone should be invisible.

 

Diverse and comprehensive books have been written about this man and his work so this is a very short post . Hopefully it covers many aspects to be considered when looking at the works.  

 

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 Paul Bartlett (1955 -)

 

Initially I found it difficult to decide upon another artist showing mastery of detail. Looking at many images in books and on the Internet left me wondering where they were. I could see that in the US many artists choose detail but many of these works did not inspire me because they seemed rather flat and lifeless ( this is a huge generalisation based on limited research). However, when looking at Ian Simpson's text on drawing skills I noticed Paul Bartlett's name next to an illustration and decided to look further.

 

Based in Birmingham, Bartlett has studied art at various schools and has produced work in a range of media. There is definitely detail in his work as this drawing shows.   

Lynda in the Life Room

However having seen it only on screen it's hard to see the techniques used. It certainly makes use of tone as well as line and there is lots going on in the surroundings. In the drawing below there are certain similarities to the swirling hair seen in Leonardo's work above.

  Patricia with hair up

 

This drawing too has a similar sense of movement .
 

 

 This is one of Bartlett's prints and is a mass of detail with a strong sense of 
pattern. The line work is apparent and the tonal work varies to a rich darkness in places but again it's the sense of everything moving into the circular centre that gives it such vitality.

 

Bartlett is a member of the Birmingham and Midlands Pastel Society and the above two works are in this medium. Bartlett says that he likes to portray family life and he does this with affection in 'Main Mother' and 'Father Sunday Papers'

They are quite different in their treatment and this seems indicative of Bartlett's work - ranging from charcoal to pastel, printmaking and graphite.

 

Finally this portrait entitled 'Astronomer' which is in pastel pencil and colour pencil.



 

This shows again an artist varying his style and the subject portrays a mixture of emotions to me. Seeing the telescope in the background, where the title undoubtedly comes from, the naked man looks vulnerable and wistful as though he's been stargazing and is disappointed that he's not reached the stars 'in life'. The hair is straighter in this depiction and it's just possible to see the dark shading around the rib bones which, with the shadows under the deep set eyes, add to the atmosphere. Unfortunately I cannot quite decipher the two figures apart from recognising that a man and a woman are represented but this would accord, perhaps, with the subject's regret. Finally this work is interesting in the choice of crop and the angle of the head. The foreshortening brings the chin to the front plane of the picture frame so we are looking down on a downturned chin and closely closed mouth again adding to the emotional atmosphere. Overall I like it immensely.