Art Behind the Art: A Look at Studies and Sketches

Art Behind the Art: A Look at Studies and Sketches

          Artworks are like icebergs, what is seen on the surface is only a small part of their process. Behind all great artists are hundreds if not thousands of sketches, studies, experiments, and failures. So often this process is ignored or undocumented, artists treated as if they sprung to life like Athena fully formed and able. You may know Da Vinci's Mona Lisa, but do you know his figures studies? You may recognize Degas' Dance Class but have you seen his pastel sketches? Beyond a few famous works there is a wealth of untapped art which in some ways is even more valuable than the masterpieces, for they provide a unique look into the artist's process and experience, giving those masterpieces a new depth. Examining preparatory or practice works reveals how the artists thought, what they focused on, and how they structured compositions or treated light and color, aspects which define their more visible art. While these efforts may seem to hold less “meaning” than finished works they are actually pieces in a larger picture which reveals the artist.

        In this collection we will take a brief look at sketches or studies done by famous artists which are exemplary of their wider style or were done for a specific work. Through these pieces we can gain a greater understanding of how the artist approached their art and what they desired to achieve with it.

Leonardo Da Vinci, Head of a Girl (Scapiliata), 1508, Umber, amber and green with white lead on panel, 24.6 x 21 cm, Galleria Nazionale Parma, Collection Gaetano Callani, #362

     This beautiful piece by a master of the Renaissance is thought to be a study for his work The Virgin of the Rocks or a simple study for a generic virgin. The initial sketch is still visible in the hair and shoulders while the face is more finished with his distinctive sufmato blending style. The soft lines, gentle curves, and delicate posture are also very typical of Da Vinci's virgin representations, evoking a mild, loving, and serious character. Head of a Girl portrays Da Vinci's love of gesture and expression and how he used it to develop a well known symbol.

Peter Paul Rubens, The Apotheosis of James I and other Studies: Multiple Sketch for the Banqueting Hall Ceiling, Whitehall, 1628-30, oil on oak support, 94.7 x 63 cm, Tate Museum, reference # T12919

     This study for the Whitehall banqueting room was a first visualization by the artist of his plan for the ceiling. It demonstrates his fluid and dynamic style, his attention to detail, and ability to create complex compositions. His main focus is on King James as he is led to heaven surrounded by figures representing wisdom, justice and various other virtues. While at first the scene seems chaotic, it is in fact five groupings (a center with four surrounding) creating a balance between an organic and logical composition. This is a typical Rubens which uses mythological references to retell a modern story while using lush figures and a dynamic composition to emotionally draw in the viewer. The strength of his composition is evident, even in this uncompleted study.

Rembrandt van Rijn, The Windmill, 1641, etching, National Gallery of Art, 1949.1.38

     In this etching Rembrandt demonstrates his love of the dutch landscapes (especially windmills) and his masterful use of line to indicate volume. His use of a right to left diagonal composition with a dark foreground and light background create an expansive and deep space as well as a sense of atmospheric perspective. Even without color and using only simple lines Rembrandt is able to capture the moody atmosphere of his landscape paintings through his emphasis on light in this etching.

Edgar Degas,  Dancer Stretching at the Bar, 1877/80, Pastel with estompe on cream laid paper, 31.8 x 24 cm, 

                                                                           Art Institute of Chicago, 1933.1229

     Degas made many paintings and sketches of dancers in his career and this work encapsulates his typical emphasis in that it concentrates on the gesture, or the act, rather than the figure. With minimal color and detail, this work focuses on the overall impression of the dancer with its thick linear quality, minimal figural detail, and simple background. It is also very impersonal, with the dancer facing away from the viewer, putting the emphasis not on the individual person, but what she is doing. It was dozens of works like this which make Degas' finished paintings of dancers so beautiful, because he understood the fundamental attraction of dance: its movement or gesture.

Georges Seurat, Study for A Sunday on La Grande Jatte, 1884, oil on canvas, 70.5 x 104.1 cm, 

The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 51.112.6

     Seurat is of course known for his pointillism, especially in A Sunday Afternoon on La Grande Jatte, however he completed many smaller studies before he painted the finished work. Here he is refining his overall composition and color choices, using a much looser style than the final painting. While his composition is almost exactly the same, he did add a few moving figures, such as the little dog in the foreground, to make slightly less static. One can also see his basic color theories much clearer because of the looser style, such as his overlay of blue and red on yellow to achieve a dark purple. This system produces a much more uniform impression in the final piece, but the basics are in this one.

John Singer Sargent, Courtyard, Tetuan, Morocco, 1879-80, oil on wood, 26 x 34.9 cm, 

Metropolitan Museum of Art, 50.130.6

     This final piece is a little more complex than the previous ones, as it is exemplary of one half of the artists style. John Singer Sargent became famous for his portrait painting, in which he did use is masterful grasp of light and color, but it was his oil and watercolor outdoor sketches which were his true passion, completing hundreds of them in his lifetime. This sketch was done early in his career and demonstrates his emphasis on using cool and warm color, layering, and a graphic quality to create depth and detail with a simple subject and pallet. This style defined his most prolific medium (watercolor) and communicates his chief delight of capturing mood and atmosphere.