Quick Tip 436 - Renaissance Tracing
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- Опубліковано 25 лип 2023
- Did the Masters use tools to trace the outlines for their paintings? Artist/art teacher Dianne Mize shares her take on the subject.
www.diannemize.com
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This video was so interesting , because Vermeer is my favorite painter. I love it when you give us history lesson. The way you “simplify “ make it easy to understand and we can see the process. Thank you very much.
My pleasure! Visual arts history is fascinating.
So profound and so .much knowledge imparted so articulate Dianne. Thanks
You are so welcome!
Very interesting! Especially the discussion of Vermeer and his pin holes. One- and two-point perspective!
Tracking artists' history is fun, and often so revealing.
The concept of 'the veil' that DaVinci employed was very eye-opening to me with a related a exercise from 'Beginning Drawing program in the Great Courses"', to actually draw on a window what I saw beyond it. (Essentially tracing the outside world.) Living in a small city on the 10th floor gives me a variety of views from my three window tiny apartment. This changed my whole perspective and allowed me to step up my drawing to a higher level of detail and accuracy.
It's an excellent way to learn to see. Have you noticed how angles and shapes change when you change your viewpoint?
@@IntheStudioArtInstruction Yes and 'student-taught' the lesson to two of my closest friends and standing still with one eye closed in the exact spot one started is the hardest bit. A wink or wobble changes the drawing.
Very thought provoking.....thank-you Dianne.
My pleasure. In many ways, history continues to be a mystery.
I remember I had seen the mentioned video. I was very impressed by it , but ultimately I believe in the masters' ability to draw and paint without special tools. I myself could draw quite well since my childhood, and if I could it then. let alone what the great masters could do! We celebrate the masters' , great and small, exceptional talent to draw. It was their profession, their life, they gave up everything else. We must be humble enough to accept, that most of us will never reach their heights. So we solemnly admire their exceptional talent. Thank you for a excellently argued issue.
Thanks for your comment. Let's not forget, too, that exceptional talent includes the consistent work to develop the skills talent enables.
Thank you for a wonderful lesson.
My pleasure, Marie.
Thanks for all the information! I found that very interesting and thought provoking.
My pleasure. Thanks for watching.
I believe the softening of edges you described is called sfumato, whereas chiaroscuro is the use of strong contrast of light and dark.
Another documentary, also on UA-cam, is Tim's Vermeer. Which also goes into lenses and mirrors.
From a podcast I listened to recently, Virgil Elliot, author of Traditional Oil Painting, said he believes that Vermeer was an excellent draftsman that set up most of his scenes much like a still life. Since he only painted maybe two paintings a year he had plenty of time to produce accurate and realistic paintings.
Either way, I believe there will always be an element of mystery surrounding Vermeer's methods in the same way we have conspiracy theorists. It just seems fascinating.
Yes, after the fact, I wish I had included sfumato with chiaroscuro. The strong light/dark contrast requires the soften of edges to be true chiaroscuro. Thanks for adding that.
Fascinating, thanks for all the info and explaining these concepts so clearly.
My pleasure!
I feel like trying to find hidden techniques could be(come) an excuse for the difference in quality other than plainly putting in the work. Good questions!
About Vermeer though there is an interesting piece of information; namely that it is likely that he crossed paths with and perhaps was friends with Antonie van Leeuwenhoek the scientist, he lived in the same place at the same time, this could have provided him with useful insight and aids.
Mystery compounds mystery, doesn't it.
@@IntheStudioArtInstruction hah yes, keeps things interesting 😄
Thank you for wonderful sharing!
My pleasure.
I think the whole point of those ''lost technic'' stories is to make money out of people who wants to believe in dishonesty of others or that they can't imagine that people from the past were not as clever, talented as we are today. And sadly it robs those artists long gone of there merits.
The same is true in any field. Anything can be "proven" by cherry-picking. In the long run, though, those who make the most noise eventually fade away.
@@IntheStudioArtInstruction Words of wisdom 😉
I agree, it's an epidemic.
Consider magic. Is it real or an illusion? There are no secrets if it’s real. If it’s an illusion, there are many. Centuries are full of trade secrets.
This is a fascinating subject in art history. When science is undeniable, there are those who will deny it. A belief system often involves money, but sometimes people just enjoy being dumbfounded.
Yes, but add to that science is actually science of the day. So much in science eventually in time gets revised or debunked as the workings of the universe are discovered. Historically, the apprentice system in visual arts training passed the master's secrets on to the apprentice. Most trade secrets were in the physical process of mixing materials and applying the paint. But with the evolving of learning how vision works and how the brain works, mysteries are still unfolding.
Ok, good points. But what about Hockney's assertion that there's an unusually high number of left-handed subjects in the Masters' paintings, consistent with their having being traced over a projection?
My contention is that Hockney's assertion is speculation. Any trained eye can guide the trained hand whether it's left or right.
The word assertion is key here. Assertions are not fact.
I don’t believe projecting an image can make it realistic but it can start you off with the correct proportions.
Nevertheless, why depend upon tracing rather than develop the skills of seeing and drawing what you see. Why not own the skills rather than depend upon something mechnical to short cut. Drawing can be learned.
@@IntheStudioArtInstruction As I said, it can start you off. People should be allowed to experiment with many different methods. They learn and grow. No need to judge and devalue other people because they take a different method than yourself. Loosen up and let them learn.
We have artist now that do ultra-realism with no aids. What makes anyone believe it couldn't be done in the 12th century. Could be the non-believers cannot draw or paint themselves?
Excellent, but who are these artists that can paint like photographs (hyper-realism) without the aid of a photograph? Would you happen to know where a list of these artists is at?
@@jeffreybond2742 Easy for you to check, type it in your search bar! By the way looking at a photo is not the same as copying or tracing it on your canvas is it.
Guys, it's just a matter of developing the seeing skills and drawing skills. When we learn how to see and the skills for recording that, photo realism as well as surrealism or total fantasy can be created by the human hand without tracing devices.
@@halallen55 I have searched many times and have not found the list I’m looking for. I was hoping you had some information.
During a figure drawing session I was recently at, some of the artist were drawing using photographs taken from their phone or tablets. To me the drawings based on the photographs were much better and more accurate than the life drawings. I very much agree looking at a photo is not the same as tracing it, but there is no doubt drawing from a photograph can be much easier.
Lucida projector used by biologist etc. drawing plants, insects, animals, etc. before the camera. Scientific drawing for identification was the purpose. So the insects and animals were typically dead. I am sure some landscapes were done for example showing the nesting etc. and where things lived. And since it exist actual landscapes not for scientific purposes.
It can and have been used for painting art just as projectors today. And you can get apps for your cell phone to become a Lucida camera, however; the big draw back is that the length of you arm and drawing tool determine the maximum size. And your sticking both into the view of the Lucida camera so to minimize this for maximum size is difficult. Need a tripod to hold the cell phone or a Lucida camera and you have to be in the same spot to the camera when drawing.
My point is training the hand to Follow what the eye is seeing and the importance of this scale to the visual artist.
Facinating. I say, to each their own. If they did use these we should be glad. If not we should strive to be as precise in our art. I feel questioning one's talent is judgement. Not a fan of it. There is a reason the masters have name recognition spanning centuries. I will never remember the name of those only known for assuming.
I agree that questioning one's talent is judgment which I abhor, but talent is not the issue here. Rather, it's the process which may or may not include talent.