pierre-paul prud'hon - an investigation into the technique of a great 19th century draftsman
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Pierre-Paul Prud'hon
detail --Academie de femme debout
Charcoal, heightened with whitechalk, on blue paper
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In 1997, I came across a volume of
beautiful provocative drawings by an
early 19th century French artist in --
THELANGUAGE OF THEBODY: DRAWINGS BYPIERRE-PAUL PRUD'HONText by John Elderfield Drawings selected by Robert Gordon
Published by Abrams
...Well, I was seduced. I set out to gain some
understanding of Prud'hon's particular approach. The
works I'm referring to are the black and white chalk on
blue paper academies. Other artists during his time used
these combined materials to study the figure, but
Prud'hon took the form to new heights. Most artists
abandoned academic figure drawing once they completed
their training, but Prud'hon kept at it throughout his
career. His technique evolved into a beautiful style that
attracted fans from his time, all the way up to present
day.
Admired though he was, Prud'hon would not influence
the future of academic training. His willful preference for
"old fashioned" classical motifs did not suit the
dominating interests of France's very modern school of
Jacques Luis David, a force which would hold sway over
the future of 19th century art. The Academy would trainstudents in other techniques, thought better suited to
modern times. Although sidelined in his life, Prud'hon'sinsights in drawing would beckon future generations with
their enigmatic testimony to sublime beauty.
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With a return of interest in classical art and its training,
students are openly asking, "How did he do that?"
Beyond the obvious need to draw accurately, the rest of
the answer is not readily forthcoming. His process was not
exactly like the Academy's. There is much in common
with the standard Academy method, but, not immediatelyapparent, there are important differences. To see and
read more about what makes Prud'hon's technique both
unique and obscure, see this page.
My investigation into Prud'hon's technique has led to
some observations, postulations and discoveries, which I
share in the pages that follow. Perhaps with this material,
readers can join me in my ongoing quest for black and
white chalk on blue paper nirvana...
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Unique & Obscure
A COMPARATIVE LOOK
AT
ACADEMIC TECHNIQUE
Unique
Let's take a look at an example of French academic figure
drawing.
In this drawing by an anonymous artist, and its detail
below, we can find the many shared traits with
Prud'hon's drawings. (Ignore the fact that the chalk is red
-- we can still find the common traits of academies)
The shared traits are:
careful analysis of forms within the body
variety in outline
diagonal hatching in background and other non-
figure subject matter
stumped tone beneath the hatchinghatches equidistant, not crossed, generally
straight, applied in rows
hatches shift direction very slightly over deeperform changes
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ompare
o this
rawing
y
rud'hon:
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The difference is:
while traditional hatching runs on an oblique path
over form,
Prud'hon's hatching runs parallel to form's length, onthe whole.
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If it was only hatching that was employed in his
drawing, analysis would not be so difficult. However,
due to the
extensive stumping in his drawings, we areleft with
questions about early application prior to the
final
hatching.
The pattern of hatch direction that Prud'hon used is quite
sophisticated. Managing the colliding groups that
invariably result is very tricky. There is no written record
of the thinking process that Prud'hon used in making his
application decisions. Through close observation, certain
"rules" have begun to surface, but there is no assurance
that Prud'hon would agreewith them.
Obscure
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Observations: Prud'hon's Materials
Pierre-Paul Prud'hon
detail --Academie
Charcoal, heightened with white chalk, on bluepaper
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Many of Prud'hon's drawings on blue paper have faded toshades of tan. Various reproductions in my reference hint
at the original color, but from these, I couldn't know what
blue was used. However, color may be a moot point,
given
the slim pickings in today's available papers.Perhaps it is
enough to know that the paper was blue. Itmust certainly
have been a middle value, between #'s 3
and 5 in the scalebelow. In the case of #5, the artist can go
equally darker
and lighter from the blue base. If using #3,
the artist can
use the paper for middle and darker lights.
Throughout my book is evidence of a laid paper texture,
as seen in the detail above. The degree of texture in this
paper must have been subtle, since it was easily obscured
with certain treatments. From experience, I imagine that
the paper needed enough tooth to capture and hold
pigment, but it also had to be pliable enough for the laid
ridges to back off under the mild pressure of a sharpened
chalk, allowing for uninterrupted crisp lines.
The Paper
blue middle value typically laid
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Pierre-Paul Prud'hon
detail --Academie
Charcoal, heightened with white chalk, on blue paper
The blacks and whites of Prud'hon's drawings carried afull range of densities from opaque to transparent, from
fine and firm to fat, intense and fluid. Sometimes a
charcoal-like "mist" was used. Stumped areas leave a
trace of the original lay-down of color, reading as a subtle
vibration...
Note the soft transparent gray surrounding the arm, thelended veil of white in the arm,
--black and white
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... and the dense whites and blacks in the hand...
Note the crisp opaque black and white hatches below.
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Discussion: Modern Materials
Pierre-Paul Prud'hon
detail --Academie
Charcoal, heightened with white chalk, on blue paper
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Simple, but oh so hard to get right.
It took some trouble to figure out what the necessarytraits were for each element, and then to find modernproducts that were suitable and compatible with each
other. The bottom line is, you need chalks that can freelysmudge but also hold a point for a series of crisp lines.You need a toothy erasable paper that is medium value,laid, with a subtle blue color.
he Paper
Almost all commercially available laid drawing papershave over--or--under emphasized textures, poor chalkreceptivity, and the wrong colors and/or values. Only
three papers I found work. And, I must say, they workvery well -- one is perfect for beginners, the other two,
experts.
Expert/Gourmet
Ruscombe Paper Mill's Cotswold Colours, Laid
middle value blue laid paper
white chalk
black chalk
Three ingredients:
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(UPDATED NOVEMBER 2001)I found these gorgeoushandmade papers just a year after I mounted this online
Prud'hon discussion. These papers were developedespecially to replicate 18th and 19th century book papersfor restorers, but are also specified for drawing. Finding
them was like winning a time travel tour to 19th centuryFrance!
I immediately wanted to tell you about this paper, but
unfortunately, by stocking my drawer with only 150sheets, I exhausted the known supply in one fell swoop.
The dealer told me that it was discontinued, but specialorders in large quantities were possible -- at twice theprice that I paid! The problem seemed insurmountable
until 2001, when I contacted Chris Bingham, the maker ofthese wonderful papers. After showing Chris how I was
using his paper, he offered to see to it that artists couldstill get their hands on it. (In late 2001, Chris visited theLouvre in Paris where he hand inspected several
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ru on raw ngs. e pronounce t at t e matc to spapers is uncanny!)
So, there IS hope for serious blue paper devotees. I am not
part of the paper sales business, so please don't ask me toorganize orders, but you won't be sorry if you get this
paper. It is THE BEST, because it:
is visually luxurious -- absolutely beautiful handmade
is a perfect, very light drawing weight, laid
is very toothy very fine -- supports very fine line work
takes multiple erasings without damage
comes in two lightfast colors: one lighter, both in themiddle value range
is made with flax, cotton, abaca
replicates 19th century paper -- miracle!
Find ordering details in the supply list.
Beginner
Hahnemuhle (German) Ingres
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This is the first usable paper that I found, and it remainsthe ideal training sheet. Once you have mastered the
basics of the technique on this paper, and if you canpossibly afford it, switch to the gourmet version
mentioned above.
This paper's color is a close match to the blue Prud'honused, and it beats all the other similarly priced sheets,with its assorted combined attributes:
non-mechanical looking mold made laid
good, light drawing weight
pliable enough toothy enough
takes multiple erasings without damage
middle value, lightfast
made with alfa cellulose
reasonable price
Find ordering details in the supply list.
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If you won't get the specified papers, make sure that thepaper you do get is medium value, like between #'s 3 and5, below. You can use gray paper with black and whitechalks, but the resulting art will not carry the same coolmoonlit feeling that Prud'hon got in his drawings. He and
his contemporaries knew what they were doing. Correct?
White chalk
This was the easiest to find. Conte makes two sticks thatprovide dense smudgeable white from one stick and crisp
line from the other. I have not needed to look further forbetter results. See supply list.
lack chalk
This has been the problem. At first I used vine charcoalas well as medium and very soft black Conte sticks.
However, their textures and color were not ideal(apparently Prud'hon did not even use charcoal). Conte
sticks are marginally good, but I learned how to makebetter drawing sticks, myself. I'm including instructions
for making them, so you can see what I mean.
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Commercial blacks are not all at once intense, firm butfluid, and cold in color. Vine charcoal is fluid, but notdark enough to stand out against the medium value
paper. The softest Conte black is dark enough, but forfine lines, it is too soft to keep sharp. The one-step-harder
Conte makes crisp marks, but it's too hard to go downboth gently and black. Last, there is a very unfortunate
red cast in the rubbed out tones. I spent more timedancing around the problems with commercial blacks
than I thought an artist should have to. Prud'hon's linework has a gentle freedom that is clearly different fromwhat is possible with the commercial blacks. Prud'hon
must have used less pressure to get his black lines. As faras the ugly red cast goes, this had to be present in the
blacks of the 19th century, because it is the nature of thesepigments to appear as the complement of this greenish
blue paper. However, I decided to fix it at the same time I
fixed the consistency of the sticks.
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How to Make Your Own Black Chalks
The following procedure will give you some niceblack chalks, better in many ways than their
commercial counterparts. This recipe replacesanother (less ideal one) that I showed until early
2002. The binder in this formula is "black Roman
earth," one of the dry Italian earth pigments
available at Williamsburg Paint. This pigment
binds the same way as the previously
recommended medium gray pencil clay, a binder
for crayon making, but since Roman earth is black,
it doesn't spoil the intensity of the bone black. I
show three hardnesses that represent the full range.
The soft recipe is very soft, so don't load it into a
portcrayon -- it could easily break under pressure.Even the harder sticks are more breakable than
factory made chalks, and must be handled with
care. They are much more likely to break under
pressure from the portcrayon. To help stabilize the
softer chalks, I am rolling a sleeve of paper aroundthem before installing in the portcrayon
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In researching recipes, I found that the historical
record contains a large array of additives, some
quite exotic. One recurring ingredient is soap. I
tried several recipes with soap and found that pure
liquid uncolored soap can increase friability and
modify the spreading and sticking action on paper.
Black pigments are a little bit uncooperative
compared with other common colors used in
crayon making. Black requires more binder to hold
together, so "enough" binder for making a stickmakes marking on paper difficult. The softer sticks
make easily scuffed drawings. A little soap
encourages the pigment to release from the stick
when drawing, and once on the paper, the mark
holds its place under light abrasion. I include theoptional soap formula below, so you can try it
yourself.
The pigments are available from different
suppliers, whose urls are listed in the supply list
below.
Important:If you do not intend to use the
recommended blue paper, omit the Phthalo Green.
If you use another blue paper, you may wish to
experiment with other pigments to cancel the redl
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Materials & Tools
1newspaper to absorb moisture while rolling out
chalks
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3 ultra fine sieve
4 broad flat blade for rolling dough
5 Bone Black, PBK9. This is an intense blackmade of calcium phosphate/carbon. available atSinopia(www.sinopia.com)
6 Phthalo Green, PG7 F AP.Cancels the red castin the black. Available at Sinopia(www.sinopia.com)
7 Italian black Roman earth dry powderedpigment, available at Williamsburg Paints
(www.oilpaint.com)
8 mixing knife
9 distilled water or optional soap solution in a
"drop controlled" dispenser. To make soapsolution, mix 50% water with 50% Dr. Bronner's
Pure Castille liquid soap (aloe vera version), or
other pure, uncolored, liquid true soap.
10measuring spoons
11a glass or plastic surface for mixing dough
Procedure
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Measure ingredients into sieve. Make sure to level the measuringpoon to control proportion accurately.
Sift and mix the powders onto glass or plastic.
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it. It might be a good idea to add slightlyless green than theamount shown above, then test it on the blue paper by fingerrubbing a small sample together with a few strokes of the softwhite Conte. If you get a reddish color cast in the tone, sift
just a little more green onto the pile, mix well, and test again.If major adjustments are made, remember to keep the binder
proportionate to original recipe.
Add only enough distilled water or soap solution to just moistenIf using the soap solution, keep your fingers away from your ey
Better to add too little first, blend, and add gradually untilright.
Dough should be stiff, and just moist enough to hang together witheing so gummy that you can't smooth the surface with mixing kni
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With your mixing knife, shape a slab just over the height that yoolled chalk will be, and control the expected length to something
manageable for drawing.
If you want equal portions to make equal sized sticks, premark ylab with the mixing knife.
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Cut away section for rolling and place on newsprint.
Newsprint will absorb excess moisture and permit freerolling. Glass or plastic seems to encourage sticky resistance.
Note, this dough is not so elastic that you can begin with ahuge chunk and roll it down and down into a narrow stick. Itwill resist this treatment by coming apart as you roll. This iswhy I recommend that you make this crude stick shaped cut-out before you roll.
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With a large flat blade, roll stick of dough, controlling elevationwith wood dowel, selected for correct diameter.
Place tender stick in open wedge (like creased, bent tag board) to
revent curving while drying.
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Supply List
A brush for lifting and removal blending, try also a chamois clo
not shown)
2 Large stump
3 Small stump
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4 Tortillons, a few
5 Erasers, block and stylus
6 Two portcrayons: one holding the soft sticks and one holding thard sticks
soft sticks
black
Conte brand 2340-9, or...
Handmade stick, "medium" recipe
white
Conte brand 2456-2B
hard sticks
black
Conte brand 2460-2B, or...
Handmade stick, "hard" recipe
white
Conte brand 2456-HB
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7 Portcrayon shown before tips are protected with duct tape
8 Sharpener for factory made chalks, or (not shown) single edgeazor blade for either factory or handmade
9 Not shown: a clean chamois
0 Paper:
Experts/Gourmet
RuscombeLaid-- "endpapers" or, "book papers." 2 of theirCotswold Colours are perfect: Barnsley Blue (once known asQueen Anne Pamphlet Blue, or Deep Blue) and Selsley SugarBag (once known as Queen Anne Strong Granite Blue, orMid-granite Blue). Selsley Sugar Bag may only be availablein wove now. Still, it might be worth giving it a try, becauseof its beautiful color and toughness.
Available from Talas, 568 Broadway, New York, NY 10012Store phone: (212) 219-0770, Fax (212) 219-0735
e-mail: [email protected]: http://www.talasonline.com
Or, try visiting Ruscombe's websitein France.
BeginnersHahnemuhle (German) Ingres color: 036 Blue Green
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Atlantic Papers at 1-800-367-8547.They will provide you with a list of stores that you can orderfrom.
A note about the portcrayon
ortcrayons were in wide use when Prud'hon was making hiscademies. There is little doubt that he used them. Paintings from t
me invariably show artists wielding these two headed tools, loadewith white in one end and black in the other. I can attest to themproved control these handy grips offer. You should use them.
he gripping brass tines of currently available portcrayons are burrnd score the chalks This will nick and break the handmade sticks
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uct tape (shown here), but dipping rubber works better. It's best thou do something to coat the tines even for the Conte sticks. Bewar
hat the "soft" handmade stick will always break in the portcrayon, ust hold it with your tender fingers.
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Observations: Parameters of Technique
Pierre-Paul Prud'hon
detail --Academie de femme debout
Charcoal, heightened with whitechalk on blue paper
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Here, I list a set of observations that begin to define
rud'hon's control over his tonal language. Exceptions
ccur, but there is a pattern which is identifiable.
he Marks
On balance, white is used for the lit side, black for the
shade
and the blue paper, or blends of black and white, for
halftones and low light.
Smudged tones(mixtures of black and white) are seen
in all areas of form, including halftones and low light.
Sparsely used fine white markscan be found in shade
and the same can be found in the lit side with black.
Final black outlineis used in varying widths, or not
used at all (see below).
Stumpingis extensively used.
Hatches
Run parallel to each other and mostly run with
the length or edge of the main form but
sometimes run obliquely to the main form,especially in shade
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Are equally spaced
Are both straight and short in length
Are applied in row series across total form, but
are ...
... organized separately over smaller anatomical
form changes.
Only slightly interlock -- cross hatching rare in
final stage
Underlying ghost hatches vary in direction from
final top hatches
By direction, hatches show mirror symmetry in
conformity with anatomical symmetry (see below)
Are commonly diagonal in background (see
below)
Many areas of drawings are coarsely rendered, and
these are often stumped
Torso is often most highly rendered
st continues with next picture...
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ighting
Single, artificial point light sourcewas aimed at the
model, clarifying volumes and simplifying transitions
between light and shade.
Artist must have worked in darkened room. White
chalk sparkles even in dim light by contrast, the paper
and blacks absorb dim light. Dramatic volumes can be
perceived with delicate additions of white in dimly lit
rooms. But in strong light, this effect is degraded. If you
draw in a strongly lit room, you will not perceiveimpressive variations from the sparkling whites and your
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drawing will probably come out crude -- possibly making
the flesh look oily from heavy highlights.
oses
Poses are harmoniously arranged in stepped elevations,
or suggestive of motion.
Faces are made unselfconscious.
That's enough to get us started...
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Method--Step by Step
Disclaimer:I didn't see Prud'hon work, and I havenever seen any artist make a drawing using his
technique. Sure, I've often made--and seen made--hatched and cross-hatched black and white drawings.There is no mystery to contemporary hatchingtechniques. But Prud'hon had a very particular anddifferent procedure that was both eccentric in itsdirection, and obscure in technique. The hatches areshort, uncrossed, very open, equally spaced, mostly
parallel to the form's length and most problematic,the hatches are set against extensively stumpedunderdrawings. Stumping obliterates evidence of theunder drawing's application. In many drawings, itappears that several hatched layers were applied, thenstumped before completion, but because of the
extensive stumping, I can't decipher how he got frombeginning to end. Since I first uploaded thisdiscussion, a reader sent me news of a quote from aneyewitness to Prud'hon at work. It offers somevalidation to my speculations. Mostly, my questionsremain unanswered, and a few new questions havearisen.
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This is what I assume to be Prud'hon's
drawing stopped in the second stage. (The
first stage would be the basic line setup.)
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Pierre-Paul Prud'hon
Black and white chalk on blue paper
At this stage, black and white both are
laid down. No stumping has been done yet.It is very important to consider the
reasoning suggested by the first
marks.These marks play a crucial role in the
potential of the drawing.
The whites, capable of smudging out freely,always ride the highlights (based on anatomy), but
also go down in big, volume-following tic-tac-toe
hatches on large lit forms.
The blacks outline, run the lengths of forms
within shade, and sometimes go down in regular,coarse, diagonal hatches. Cross hatching is found
in the core of shade, and cave zones.
If laid out properly, these coarse marks can bepreserved to the finish (I'll call them "unfinished"
areas). Although the artist elects to go further
with the drawing in selected areas, well placed
coarse marks are complete in their own right, and
contribute to the interest of the entire drawing.
Once this stage is complete, the next step is to
stump generously all areas that do not call for thefirst coarse hatches...
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The next step is to generously stump all
areas that do not call for preserving the first
coarse hatchesAs shown above, much of the drawing remains as
the stumped out first layer--here, it's theextremities. Note the way that ghosts of theoriginal hatches remain, serving as diffusedhighlights and form direction from light to shade.Black and white are slurred together to makegray in this drawing, but in other drawings thewhite, black and blue paper are segregated. Since
more treatment follows for slected areas, I'll callthis stage "unfinished..."
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To "finish" an area, crisp hatches are
applied.
As I mentioned earlier, several passes can bemade, stumped over, and then rehatched and even
stumped again, but I don't know with certainty
whether there is a pattern of attack to this phase,
because stumping obliterates the under
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treatments. The above image seems to suggest that
final hatches can be made over the first stumping,
or second, or third, etc.
At some point a fresh iteration of the outline is
selectively applied.
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10 steps--a demonstration
This demonstration reflects
my mid 2003 understanding
--or lack of it--
of Prud'hon's Technique.This drawing was captured in 10 steps.
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1Outline
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This demonstration follows a different coursethan the previous one. Mainly, you will see newrecommendations for the various hardnesses of thechalks. I have added more information on organizingthe hatches, and I add a suggestion to stump withyour fingers or use a chamois to remove tone. So lets
begin...
Step 1is the initial outline.
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The outline:
places the figure on the page,solves shape and proportion, and
maps the important tonal boundaries.
Do not go forward with any of these mattersunsolved. Don't make the drawing beautiful here.
Just make it accurate. Take your time.
Before going on, step backand thoroughlyconsider your drawing. If anything is wrong with
the placement, angles or proportions, FIX THESEPROBLEMS NOW. Don't go to the next step
without taking a viewing break first. Fix as many
times as it takes. Don't go on until you take that
last break and see that everything is OK. The
reason this is important is that each stage may
become the last (so called "unfinished" part).
Remember though, stay nice and easy, like
Prud'hon did.
MaterialsUse a black chalk that freely releases
the color, so that you don't have to bear down.
There should be a certain ease to your marks. Usea black that can erase and also leave a ghost with
stumping. In the handmade chalks, the "hard"
will work nicely. Use the harder Conte.
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2Bold Hatching
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As explained in the eyewitness account of
Prud'hon's method, the outline wasrubbed to a pale mist before moving tothis step described below. It is not clear to
me that Prud'hon always rubbed out hisoutlines. I chose not to rub out the outlinein this drawing.
Step 2requires close observation and
fore planning.
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White
Observe the forms holding highlights. Use your
softest white to draw the highlights. You are
drawing anatomy here, no matter how coarsely.Highlights run along the peaks of forms, and in
the troughs between them.
Highlights are:linear on cylindrical and conical formscircular on the spherical formsnarrow and concentrated on small
turning formsbroader and more diffuse in large
turning forms
As seen in the example by Prud'hon, this is a stage
where your marks should be generous and openlyspaced. Cross hatching is applied mainly to allotenough material for eventual smudging andmodeling. Cross hatching can be directed
obliquely over the forms, and is typically destinedto be stumped thoroughly, which leaves a fluidhaze and ghostly hatches. If all goes well, selected
areas can be left 'as is' before or after firststumping, leaving a good sense of anatomy andlighting. A good setup requires that you keep the
coarse hatches firstly on the highlights andsecondarily on the main lights. (The lower leg inthis drawing is destined to be stumped once, and
never touched again.) If you place the hatches tooclose together the stumped out drawing will be
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opaque over the blue paper, which cancels thepaper's purpose as an undercurrent, and deniesthe possibility of elegant open marks in a final
effect.
MaterialsUse the softest white.
Black
Apply black to the shade zone using paralleldiagonal open coarse hatches. Cross hatch at the
core of the shade zone, or in extra dark areas likecaves, or at the joints of projecting, bent limbs(not an issue in this drawing). As with the whites,
you are allotting enough material to eventuallysmudge into the foundation as a medium darktone. At this stage, you can be deciding whether
the shade zone will be simpler, with lessanatomical description, than the lit side.
MaterialsUse the softest black Conte, or the"medium" handmade chalk.
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3Stump Out Hatches
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Step 3achieves a coarse tonalarrangement. Using the large stump, rub in
the separate colors in accordance with their
shade or lit condition.
Use one end of the stump for black, and the otherfor white.
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Note, however, the eyewitness accountdescribes a
stage where Prud'hon smears black and white
together, "until a smooth and muted velvet gray
tonality remains." Total separation of black from
white, then, is not required. In fact, the gray tone
seems fairly common in Prud'hon's drawings. Butnever forget: form depends on lights and darks.
There is a basic rule that no part of the shadow
may ever be as light as the lit side, and no part of
the lit side may ever be as dark as the shadow.
The stump will ingrain a hatch if you rub it withthe direction of the hatch. If you rub it across the
hatch, the stump will blend the chalk out into the
raw paper. At this stage, it is best to rub tones into
the raw paper, so make your stump go
perpendicular to the direction of the hatch.
If you wish, you can leave the middle value areasas raw paper.
If you realize you shouldn't have covered an area
with the chalk, you can erase all the way back to
the paper. Or, if the first stumping appears too
opaque over the paper, you can evenly removesome, but not all, of chalk with a clean chamois.
The stump may be used as a line making tool by
smearing with the point.
In this drawing, the stumping of the lower leg
becomes the final treatment.
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4Hatch White
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Step 4 starts with the lights. Once thesmudging stage has been taken to the limit
you wished for -- you might even have left
some areas untouched -- you can nowclarify and assert the lights.
You might need to do a little clean-up
before proceeding.
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When stumping, you may have
overstepped your mark. Perhaps low light
and halftone should be untoned (This
particular demo does not have clean-up).
ERASE.At this time you can erase back
to the paper where you think blue only-isbest.
RE-OUTLINE.Smudging causes theoutline to lose its clarity, so if necessary,
go back and clarify important outline at
this stage.
Detectably, Prud'hon gave most areas that
required anatomical specifics several passes. This
process hid previous steps, leaving me to wonderhow the work evolved. My sense is that after first
bold hatches, he proceeded purposefully, using
fine hatches that may or may not have matched
the final directions.
Here is how the above drawing proceeded:
First, a bit of outline marked plane changes and
consequent lighting. For example, see the
horizontal lines that mark the folds in the
abdomen.
Next, I ran SHORThatches eitherat
the same angle as the outer form's edge,
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or
with the form's length,Or, although not done here, hatches can
run obliquely on form (I have seen traces
of oblique hatches just below the final
hatches in Prud'hon drawings).
MaterialsUse a white chalk that freely releases
the color, so you don't have to bear down. Use a
hardness that can erase and smear, and will leave
a ghost with stumping. Use either of the Contes,
depending on how dense you want your white to
be. The softer Conte will be the more dense. This
drawing uses the harder white (HB) at this stage.
Again, these hatches may be directed obliqueto
the form if you think that would be right or you
may direct them with its length. More about this
later...
More about hatches
To emulate Prud'hon, apply the hatchesin rows,NOT RANDOMLY.
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As the rows add up, you get acontinuous tone.
The hatches only slightly interlock:
On another matter, most of the hatches,
whether black or white, should be applied
to each separate form [A, below]. Routine
hatching across the all the separate forms
[B, below]will cause a loss of the forms.
Even though the hatches share the same
direction, they should still be separately
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applied to separate forms.
An exception to this rule would be
diagonal hatching in shadows,
intentionally applied to obscure form.
A B
Yet more on applying the hatches
Prud'hon's particular hatching technique
is eccentric. It is instructive to take a guess
at how he worked, try it out, and see if you
think your work improves. I can attest
that the struggle to render in his manner
(which is difficult) has strengthened mypainting.
Here are some ways to keep the hatches
crisp and on target.
Keeping line crisp.This is one of those
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things that you need to try. The concept is
so simple you might not think to make it a
habit:
While drawing, keep the chalk at a
low angle to the paper.
If you pull or push the chalk [in
the direction of its length] and
rotate between strokes to refresh
the tip, you will have a
permanently crisp line. If you
don't rotate, the tip will soon wear
and broaden.
If you swing the line, rather than
pull or push, the resulting line will
be broad.
Keeping the line on target.To directyour lines precisely, add this skill to your
bag of tricks:
For better visibility, pushyour chalk
along the path you wish to draw. When
you drag, the tool hides the desired path,
so you might miss your placement.
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5Hatch Black
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Step 5moves on to the darks.
The eyewitness account emphasizes that Prud'hon
focused on the lights. It indicates that the lightscame first, then the shadows. Clearly, the first
bold hatches of both black and white were applied
before the first stumping of tones. It is possible,
but not at all certain, that Prud'hon also hatched
both white and black before stumping again.
The BlacksFi t bit f " tli " d t k l
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changes and consequent lighting (see the
horizontal black lines with the vertical abdomen
hatches -- this describes the dark side of the form
and its base).
Then, as with the white,I ran SHORThatches
either at
the same angle as the outer form's edge,or
with the form's length,oralthough not done here, oblique to the
form's edge
The hatches were applied in rows,
NOT RANDOMLY.As the rows added up, I got a
continuous tone.
I made the hatches only slightlyinterlock.
I ran long'ish diagonal hatches in theshadows and background.
Direction in backgrounds and
shadows
The backgrounds in academies
were traditionally applied with
diagonal black hatches. Likewise,
it was common to use diagonal
black hatches in shade zones,
when the artist wanted
simplification
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Prud'hon used the traditional
diagonal black hatch background.
In shadows, Prud'hon sometimes
used diagonal black, but often
chose to run the hatches with the
form's length, just like he did withthe whites.
MaterialsUse a black chalk that freely releasesthe color, so you don't have to bear down. Use a
hardness that can erase and smear, and will leave
a ghost with stumping. Use the harder Conte.
Again, these hatches may be directed obliqueto
the form if you think that would be right or you
may direct them with form's length. More aboutthis coming up...
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6Lightly Stump
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Step 6is light stumping
You can use a small stumpor thetortillonsin these
areas, in order not to lift too much chalk away.Ghostly traces of hatch direction are permitted.
The lightly stumped white hatch running parallel
to the length of the thigh became the finaltreatment. It remains unchanged to the end of the
drawing.
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The following is a diagram of the approach I amleading you through:
We have already done {A}, and we arepresently at stage {B}.
A. First hatch in one direction
B. Lightly stump (as drawing
above)
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C. Re-hatch in new direction
(oblique here)
D. Stump again
E. Hatch again with the form
direction
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More...
You can direct hatches across form over and over,running the hatches in different directions with
each new pass. I suspect that Prud'hon typically
softened each directional series before adding newhatches over the top. If the area is not stumped
first, we could straightforwardly call that"crosshatching." But since stumping is usedbetween hatches, this is enough of a variant of
crosshatching to say it's not-crosshatching.
For the most part, Prud'hon finalized all hatching
by running the last hatches generally with theform's length, as in figure E.
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7Apply White Again
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Step 7is a re-hatching of the whites,aiming to close in on "final" look.
As with all stages, this one is done in row hatches.
Whites still mark the highlights, troughs, and
stronger illuminated areas. The paper can be left
"untouched" in the halftone, if desired (not
applicable in this demo).
This hatching stage is different than the first two,because tones beneath are now more saturated.
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The gap between hatches should be open enough
to let the value beneath play a role in the
modeling. Also, these hatches may be either
obliqueto the form, if you think that would be
right or they may be with its lengthto see if you
might possibly finish an area off. Finishing is
theoretically possible, if you did everythingperfectly in preparation. Fortunately, erasable
chalks and stumping permit endless layers and
corrections, while never losing that fresh, not
overworked, appearance.
In this drawing, I applied hatches to the separateforms, lightly softening the strokes with the side of
my little finger. Finger "stumping" is the best
method for reducing sometimes harsh hatches.
Materials.Use chalks that freely release the
color, so you don't have to bear down. Your color
should erase and smear, but leave a ghost withlight finger stumping. Use the harder white Conte.
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8Add Black Again
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Step 8: Re-hatch the blacks, with theaim to close in on a "final" look.
As with all stages, this one is done in row hatches.Blacks mark the forms in shade. In low light and
halftone, both black and white can mingle (see
ribs at flank). Alternately, the paper can be left
"untouched" in these areas.
This hatching stage is different than the first two,because tones beneath are now closer to the final
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effect. The gap between hatches should be open
enough to let the haze of color below play a role in
the modeling. For additional darkening, you can
repeatedly stump black hatches into the paper
and reapply new hatches. Also, these hatches may
be either oblique, if you think that will be right, or
they may be parallel to the edge or lengthwhichmight possibly finish an area off. Finishing is
theoretically possible if you did everything
perfectly in preparation. Fortunately, erasable
chalks and stumping permit endless layers and
corrections, while never losing that fresh, not
overworked, appearance.
The drapeis darkened with diagonal black
hatches. In the few examples that I have seen from
Prud'hon, this was his choice for black hatch
direction in drape.
Materials.Use chalks that freely release thecolors, so you don't have to bear down. Your
chalks should erase and smear, but leave a ghost
with light stumping. In the handmade chalks, do
not use the softest stick for this stage. Either the
"medium" or "hard" will work, depending on
your specific need. The hard will hold a point best.Use the harder black Conte.
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9Hatch, Tortillon, and Hatch Again
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Step 9uses both black and whitehatches, and heavy and/or light finger
stumping to reach the point where the
drawing has reasonable tonal accuracy andbalance.
When colors build up, you can use the stump ortortillon
to remove tone toward the value of the
paper. The tones
should be so close to correct that
the forms are reading
well. The total feel of the
main volumes may not yet be in
proper balance.
Usually, at this stage, the lights are not
quite lightenought, and the darks not quite dark enough.The definition and final emphasis might not be complete
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10Finishing Refinements
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Step 10After looking at the drawing for a good long
time,
I solved overall appearances when I:
Used the softest handmade black to darken
hair mass, armpit, and low thigh.
Added final fine black hatches to darker sides
of ribs, whether in shadow or light.
Corrected the final direction of the form
hatches.
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Visual Summary
Close-ups, 1 through10
1 Outline
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2 Bold Hatching
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3 Stump Out Hatches
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4 Hatch White
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5 Hatch Black
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6 Lightly Stump
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7 Apply White Again
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8 Add Black Again
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9 Hatch, Tortillon, and Hatch Again
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10Finishing Refinements
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