52 artistMarch 2020 http://www.painters-online.co.uk
MASTERCLASS
DRAWING CIRCLE
STUDY DAY S
Further information about future
Drawing Circle study days in museums
and galleries can be found at http://www.
adelewagsta .co.uk or on Instagram @
DrawingCircle_London After Guercino (Giovanni Francesco
Barbieri) Woman Soaking a Cloth in a
Bowl Held by a Girl, red chalk, 10 8¾in
(25.5 22.5cm).
Courtesy Metropolitan Museum of Art; image in
public domain.
This drawing in red chalk is closely related to
a detail of the two female gures from the
composition of Guercino’s larger painting,
which now hangs in Bologna. We see
Irene, who is being helped by a young girl;
they are positioned diagonally within the
composition and this is further enhanced as
Irene appears to lean away from the viewer.
This soft medium allows Barbieri to describe
the rhythms and shapes within the fabrics,
without the edges becoming too de ned.
The play of light on the garments adds to the
overall feeling of rhythm and this creates a
sense of movement as the viewer’s eye is led
around the drawing
t Eugène Delacroix Adoration of the Magi,
after Rubens c1830, graphite, 10 7¾in
(25.5 20cm).
Courtesy Metropolitan Museum of Art; image in
public domain.
Delacroix made this copy in graphite after a
reproductive print, which he often did in his
practice. He was known to make copies in
this way even when he was able to see the
painting for himself. The drawing we see here
is made from the reversed image as seen in
the engraving.
This sketch focuses on the three kings,
rhythmic lines ow beautifully, describing the
clothes, their hair and curls of the beards. The
position of the holy family is only suggested
with the lightest of strokes and minimal
information, almost as if they were drawn
by Matisse. The kings are described with
heavier marks, lines which are rhythmically
placed close together to give weight to their
forms. This helps to bring them forward in the
composition to create depth between the two
groups of gures