56 Artists&Illustrators
RENAISSANCE DRAWING
T
hemainprinciplethat
distinguishesOldMaster
worksfromcontemporary
realismis theuseofvalueand
shadowtocreateanillusionofa
three-dimensionalformona two-
dimensionalsurface.Theprinciple,
whichbecameknownaschiaroscuro,
anItaliantermmeaning“light-dark”,
is actuallysurprisinglysimple.When
illuminatedproperly,formdividesinto
twomajormassesofvalue:lightand
shadow.If youlearntoreplicatethe
exactshapesofbothlightand
shadow,andpayparticularattentionto the transitions between them, you
will be able to capture a likeness and
draw anything realistically. Since its
introduction in the 15th century, this
approach has been successfully
practised by many artists that we
admire today.HOW DO I LIGHT MY
SUBJECT?
To achieve the beautiful soft
transitions characteristic of the Old
Masters’ works, illuminate your
subject with natural light. Artificial
lighting creates much strongercontrasts, harder edges, and often
alters the colour temperature. Always
work with one light source and make
sure you have clearly defined light and
dark masses. (Two or more light
sources will not only dilute the
shadows, but also weaken the
structure of your drawing). Position
your model near a large window or
skylight. North light is best as it hardly
changes throughout the day, but other
windows will do as well as long as
there is no direct sunlight.WHAT IS THE ‘TROIS
CRAYONS’ TECHNIQUE?
I was already working as a portrait
painter when I first came across some
Italian Renaissance drawings done
in the so-called trois crayons (or
“three-colour”) technique. These
preparatory studies for a multi-figure
oil painting were carefully rendered
in black, red and white chalk on a
beige-coloured paper. I was struck
by the lifelike effect that could be
produced with such a limited palette.
Intrigued and keen to try it myself,
I began to experiment with charcoal,
sanguine, and white Conte crayons
on pastel paper of different colours
and textures. When used in different
ways – hatched, mixed, blended,
spread in varying degrees of opacity- the three colours could produce a
wide range of textures and very
believable skin tones.
HOW DOES IT WORK?
The three-colour Renaissance
technique is logical and simple: black
chalk was used for the dark and cool
tones, red sanguine for warm
mid-tones, and white for highlights.
For studies and sketches, this was
sufficient.
However, for more refined, finished
portraits, warm sanguine alone was
not enough to give the full range of
skin tones. Some features, like lips or
corners of the eye, often require a
cool, pinky red, especially in the
shadows. I added a dark sanguine
Derwent pencil for this which I use
alongside warm Conte sanguine.PREVIOUS PAGE
Natalia Osipova,
conte crayon and
pastel on paper,
70x50cm
LEFT Katya,
charcoal and
pastel on paper,
45x35cm