THE TRADITION OF MASTER COPY DRAWING
“It is at the museum that one learns to paint.” — Pierre-Auguste Renoir
EACH MONDAY, we explore great art collections, museums and the grand study of master copy. This time-honored old-world studio discipline affords us the opportunity to stand in the proverbial shoes of great European masters to expand our own visual comprehension and shape our craft.
This traditional way of learning is as old as western art itself. For centuries, studio apprentices learned their craft by imitating studio masters just the same way aspiring musicians studied great musical composers. It didn’t stop there. Seasoned masters, including Peter Paul Rubens, likewise stretched the range of their artistic voices by studying and copying the works of other masters. During his trip to Rome in 1601-1602, Rubens compiled an extensive collection of sketches and drawings based on the paintings of Michelangelo, as well as various classical sculptures.
Today, great collections and resources can offer us the same exciting privilege to solve visual puzzles through the time-honored studio practice called master copy. This process of learning by example allows us to stretch beyond our comfort zone to iron out solutions to complex visual challenges that are so eloquently demonstrated by great masters. From there, we springboard into our own unique artistic voice.
Master copy drawings are for our personal use only as we respectfully offer all credit to the original author of the composition and work. In my opinion, there is no better avenue for intimate acquaintance with our great artistic forefathers.
I encourage all to join the ongoing pilgrimage to these iconic collections to see, imagine and visualize the actual hand process of these great masters yourself. No digital reproduction, regardless of its high resolution, can replace seeing the original physical work. My favorite collections include the Louvre, Musee d’Orsay, the Metropolitan, the State Hermitage, the National Galleries of Washington and London, the Mauritsuis, Rijksmuseum, and, of course, many others. Enjoy being part of this great artistic heritage.
Our weekly atelier program features this traditional practice for all entrants to enjoy.
Mark Anthony
LIST OF classroom master copy studies
recently POSTED ON THIS WEBSITE
16C Raphael Sanzio - Three Male Figures in Attitudes of Terror - Devonshire Collection
16C Giambologna - Euphrates (Sculpture) - RISD Museum, Rhode Island
17C Jacob van Ruisdale - Windmill of Wijk bij Duurstede - Collection of the Amsterdam Museum
17C Jacob van Ruisdale - Winter Landscape with Two Windmills - Private Collection - Museum of Fine Arts Boston
17C Diego Velazquez - Portrait of Juan de Pareja - Metropolitan Museum of Art
17C Pierre Legros the Elder - Drapery detail from “Spring'“ and “Autumn” (Sculptures) - Louvre Museum
18C Etienne Maurice Falconet - Milo of Croton (Sculpture) - Louvre Museum
18C Jacques-Augustin Pajou - Bacchante holding a tambourine, with two children - (Detail of Sculpture) Louvre Museum
19C Jules Breton - La laitiere - Whereabouts unknown
19C Charles Bargue - Various Study Plates - Bargue-Gerome Drawing Course
FEATURE ARTIST OF THE MONTH
ADOLPH ARTZ, 19C, Amsterdam
This fine painter is not short of very impressive. Adolph Artz, lived for 52 years, from 1837 to 1890. In his short life, he demonstrated strong compositional and technical skills as so demonstrated in this inspiring work. The interior scapes of Northern Masters keep us transfixed by the manual execution of this near photographic scene.
Multiple subjects are always a challenge, especially as they are presented in receding space. Artz so skillfully demonstrates anatomical and proportional volume within these heavily draped forms, and effortlessly throws in the variations of age to boot! So well done.
I personally love these quiet compositions of figurative compositions that come from the North that make you believe that the subjects are not aware that they are observed. So, the incidental beauty of the moment is stolen by the observing secret trespasser. Simply beautiful.
Get your pencil out and try this one. Beware that a sitting figure requires some anatomical understanding, both in proportion and flexion of adjacent masses around the common joint. You will have a delightful challenge.
Located in Amsterdam, the Rijksmuseum is the home of iconic works by great Northern Masters. The collection includes the most famous of names like Rembrandt and Vermeer, while also supporting the works of lesser known, but equally treasured artists who contribute to the alround voice of Europe’s northern cultures and history. The Rijksmuseum makes these treasures accessible to everyone including artists and art lovers and presents a priceless experience to any developing student who values the rich visual approach demonstrated during the Baroque period. Visiting the Rijks is a must!
ADOLPHE ARTZ - Orphanage at Katwijk-Binnen c1880
Public Domain
https://www.rijksmuseum.nl/en/collection/SK-A-2292