Sketch Book for the Artist

Anatomies

These highly finished drawings express the emotional power

and physicality of the head and neck. Newsome's eerily

shadowed form is smooth and bears a linear grain evocative

of wood. It floats in space, solid above and almost hollow

below. Psychological drama is contained behind a grid, while

white painted flecks and wisps suggest electrical illumination.

The style of Durelli's drawing opposite sings with the

confidence of truth and precision, its highly clarified detail

claiming to be drawn from observation. In fact, the face

is one of the hardest parts to dissect. Delicate muscles are

integrated with the skin and fat that is to be removed.

Nerves, blood vessels, and glands also complicate form.

This is a marvelous interpretation of the truth. The real

dissection would have been far more complex, confusing,

distorted, and unpleasant to see. Anatomically, Durelli has

made a few minor mistakes, but they are irrelevant here.

VICTOR NEWSOME

British sculptor painter and draftsman. Newsome

was awarded the Prix de Rome in 1960, taught at

numerous British art schools from 1962-77,

continues to exhibit regularly, and has works in

major collections including the Tate Gallery, London.

Contrasts Sharp, dark lines made with a pencil appear

against smooth, dark tones of graphite blended into the paper,

perhaps using a tortillon. Highlights of white gouache were

applied late in the making, using a fine and relatively dry

brush. This is one of a number of similar disembodied female

heads seen behind, or defined by, the contours of a grid.

Profile Head

1982

13 x 181 / 8 in (328 x 460 mm)

VICTOR NEWSOME

PORTRAITURE