In 1983 I did this oil study of the sculpture of Menelaus Carrying the Body of Patroclus (also known as Ajax Carrying the Body of Achilles). This sort of grisaille copy is fairly commonplace in today's Bargue-based ateliers, but I was working in a vacuum because the contemporary atelier movement had not yet developed.
I had left art school and set up my own curriculum because nobody on the art school's faculty seemed to know anything about the academic method. I found my answers in books. One of the most useful books was "The Academy and French Painting in the 19th Century."
The author Albert Boime points out that there were several goals of academic copies, ranging from technical to almost spiritual. The practice was far more than a superficial exercise. Yes, I was learning about light and form of course, and deepening my understanding of gesture and anatomical form and composition.
But it was more than that. By copying the masters of the Renaissance and of the Greek and Roman period, I felt as though I entered a deep sympathy with them that I didn't feel from just looking at them. Classical musicians understand this sympathy, because to play Beethoven or Mendelssohn well, you don't just play the notes. You have to try to understand them and enter their mind.
Unfortunately not all art students are encouraged to copy, so they don't get to share in this enriching practice of mind-melding with great artists of the past.
First thank you very much for your blog. It has been how I start my day, every day, since 2006ish. Thank you.
ReplyDeleteI couldn't agree more about copying. In addition, I would say of great importance is tracing. Everyone seems to have a stigma about tracing. But, you can learn sooo very much from tracing.
Norman Rockwell suggested taking magazine heads of celebrities and trying to trace over their photos where the skull was.
If you just trace continuous outlines around things then tracing is not of great assistance to knowledge. But, if you map a form with continuous shadow and light shapes. All shadows connect, and all lights connect. It can be such a worthwhile experience that will have such great results in your non tracing drawings/paintings.
Was this practice from sculptures from life, or did you use photo references?
ReplyDeleteAnyway, thanks you for your wonderfull blog
Hey man, thanks very much for the recommendation. I'm going to try and see if I can get the book from my local library. Feel like I've gained a lot from making a copy of Seurat and some of Raphael so maybe this will help with future copies/studies 🎉
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