INCONTEXT:ANTOINEWATTEAU
AntoineWatteau’sdrawingscontaina tactileawarenessofform,bothin
thebouncingcontoursoftheouteredgesofhisfiguredrawingsandin
thesubtlecross-contouringacrossfigures,fabricandfacesinhiswork.
ThesequalitiesaresubtlypresentinhisStudyofa NudeManHolding
Bottles, c. 1715-’16[above].GRAVITY AND WEIGHT
Bones provide ridged anchors in
the body which muscles act upon
to facilitate movement. By contrast,
fat hangs with gravity. When you are
looking at a human fi gure both your
own sense of physicality and your
empathy for the model should inform
your drawing. One of the advantages
of drawing from life is that you can
see the model move into and out of
their pose, giving you an insight into
how forces act on their fi gure. Notice
how the malleable forms of their body
shift: within the constraints of skin,
both fat and relaxed muscle will be
pulled downward by gravity.
Marks that suggest weight do not
directly record observed phenomena
like an edge or a shape of shadow –
they are metaphors, tapping into a
feeling. They record a personalresponse, something that can’t be
directly prescribed. A concentration
of dark marks often indicate weight,
whereas pale lines suggest lightness.
Likewise, marks that suggest form
might also be used to indicate weight
but the language you develop should
be your own.
In the drawing on the right I built
up swift, intuitive lines in response to
weight, concentrating elliptical marks
where it felt gravity was acting on the
model’s body, particularly the legs,
belly, buttocks and breast.
I sought tension where the weight
hung on bone structures (the
shoulders, jaw and hips) and allowed
the areas supporting little weight
to remain light (the hair and neck).
The drawing resembles a fi gure lit
from above, as top-down lighting
mirrors the effects of gravity.METROPOLITAN
MUSEUM
OF
ART,
NEW
YORK.
BEQUEST
OF
WALTER
C.BAKER,
1971