Sketch Book for the Artist

THE

BODY

Choreographs

TIME IS A SIGNIFICANT ELEMENT in the making of all drawings.

Here, we compare a skillful design that absorbed much time

in its making with the quickness of an idea marked instantly.

In his famous paintings of social engagement, Seurat

evolved a distinctive technique called pointillism—images

literally made from myriad points of color. His drawings are

similarly unique. Typically, he used black conte (see p. 162)

and an eraser to model teeming points of artificial light amid

velvet darkness. Below, in a perfect example, it is as if

the very atoms of air are made visible, agreeing to coalesce

and show us the form of a waiting boy, who sits propped

in the contradictory darkness of a hot summer's day.

Opposite, Beuys's magician, scratched in seconds, stands

in counterpoise holding a dark globe and his thoughts in

momentary balance. The space around him chatters with

symbols, like small birds attendant on the meditation.

GEORGES SEURAT

French painter classically educated in the Ingres

school of thought. Seurat engaged in lifelong studies

of line, form, and color His applied theories still

influence painters in their manipulation and rendering

of local, reflected, and complementary hues.

Tone and light In this black conte drawing, there are no

outlines, only tones blending into, or abruptly meeting, other

tones. Light is given by the paper alone. If Seurat had added

white, it would have mixed with unseen black dust, turned

gray, and muddied the brilliance of the drawing. Using the

paper to create light is important for beginners to learn.

Seated Boy with a Straw Hat

1883-84

91 / 2 x 12^1 / 4 in (241 x 312 mm

GEORGES SEURAT