Charcoal Drawing Author(s): M. B. Odenheimer-Fowler Source: The Art Amateur, Vol. 8, No. 6 (May, 1883), p.

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130
CHARCOAL DRA WING.

THE

ART

AMATEUR.

IN learning to draw the simplest means are of course the best. For this reason, principally, char coal is usecl in all the good art schools, being most available for studies where frequent erasure is neces sary, ancdalso because themost brilliant and striking effects are quickly and easily obtained by its use. Charcoal is a favorite material with artists generally, in sketching and drawing, being equally available for figuresor landscapes where a quick, rough impres sion merely is desired, or for work to be carried on so as to produce themost finishedeffect. The materials necessary forcharcoal drawing are simply a box of the best French charcoal, either the Cont6 or the Rouget, which comes in short firmsticks; some sheets of charcoal paper, a few assorted paper stumps, a pointed rubber or leather stump, and a piece of soft and rather stale bread. In selecting the paper to be used, the " Lalanne" and the " Michelet" are among the best, and either can be easily procured in thiscountryof any good dealer in artmaterials. In most art schools the cream white is preferred to the tinted shades of paper for making studies, though sometimes in rapid sketches good effects may be produced on tinted paper with white chalk intro duced in the highest lights. In preparing to draw, several sheets of paper should be carefully fastenedwith thumb-tacks to the drawing board, one over the other; this is to prevent any inequalities of the board from making an impression on the surface of the paper when rubbing. For sketching, a block of charcoal paper is very con venient, and can be made to order any size that is desired. This is composed of a number of small sheets of paper tightly pressed together,until theyare solid and compact, forminga sort of tabletwhich can be held conveniently on the lap. When one sketch is made, that leaf may be carefully loosened from the top, leaving a clean sheet underneath for the next drawing. There are two principal methods of drawing in charcoal: one when the stump is used throughout,and again when the shadows are put in simply by broad hatching, and the stump is not used at all. In this case, a slight tone is often rubbed in all over the surface of the shadow with the finger,and the hatching is put on afterwardwith the charcoal sharpened to a point. In landscapes the finger is used to rub in the charcoal, instead of the stump, by nmanyartists, as it gives a different and looser effect,though the hatching is omitted. The point is, of course, used also. For instance, in beginning a landscape, just sketch in lightlythe -principal forms,dividing thewhole as far as possible into two large masses of light and shade. With a stick of sharpened charcoal fill in the shadows wvithstrong parallel lines rather close together. Now with the first.finger ge,ntly rub these lines together until thewhole is one flat tone. If the tone is too dark, rub a clean rag softlyover the surface of the paper, removing the superfluous charcoal, and thengo over it again with the point. The same process may be repeated until the de sired depth of tone is gained. The with deeper accents may then be put in the charcoal point, and any necessary details drawn. The most brilliant lights may be
made in the darkest shadows, or any

part completely erased, at will, by using stale softbread crumb rolled up to a point in the fingers. Sometimes COMMON the pointed rubber stump is foundcon CHARCOAL. venient when bread is not at hand. .The.masses of light in the landscape are treated by spreading in the same way a very deli cate tint over thewhole surface, and then removing the highest lightswith bread. The accents and de tails are then put inwith a point, as before explained. Sometimes a piece of chamois skin is preferred to a rag in removing superfluous charcoal.

In making large studies of heads, where careful Charcoal draNvingsmay be executed on paper or finish is required, the stump is used. The charcoal canvas, or even on the clean plaster ofwalls, and fixed is laid on in parallel lines as for landscapes, but there; but of all materials paper is the most used. should be rubbedwith a large paper stump until the *Thequality of its grain is ot great importance, as it flat tone is attained. The smaller stumps are used in is sure to affect very strongly the quality of the finishingsmall parts, and it is necessary to keep them manual work, and also the particular kind of natural as clean as possible, so as not to smear the drawing. truth which the artistwill be able Stumps when much blackened may be cleaned off to interpret. If it is too rough it with bread. In finishing, the charcoal is used cut catches the charcoal too strongly to a finepoint, fordetails, and sharp accents. Hatch on its littleeminences, so that-the ing sometimes is employed in the finishingof charcoal artist finds it difficult,if not im heads that are worked with the stump, but is not possible, to get any delicate tex considered to be in good style, and is therefore tures, ancl has to shade sky and avoided by the best artists. The process of working water as if they were rock. If,on in charcoal is, on thewhole, so very simple, thatvery the other hand, the paper is too few directions are necessary. After a few trials, smooth (as Bristol-board, for ex practice and observation will enable the intelligent ample), the charcoal does not bite worker to improve rapidly and gain by experience a. upon itproperly-it seems to have knowledge of the resources of thismost interesting no hold-and good shading is not method of art work. easy. The best papers have a M. B. ODENHEIMER-FOWLER. grain, but rather a finegrain, and very even in itsparticular kind of roughness, like some fine-grained TOA HAMER OAT CHARCOAL DRA WING. stone. Some draughtsmen, in charcoal, headed by Lalanne and CHARCOAL DRAWING, as it is done at the present Lhermitte, have a liking for papier time, is a modern art. The old masters seldom used verge-paper with a stronglyvis charcoal except fora slight sketch to be removedwith iblewire-mark. In the process of nmanufacturethe paper-pulp dries thinner where it meets the wire, which consequently leaves a small hollow like a furrow in earth. The charcoal passes over this without getting into it, so furrow I that the furrow remains white, (II unless the charcoal is rubbed into it purposely. The conse quence is that you have many straightwhite lines going across G_ - I your drawing, and others going at right angles to them at meas ured intervals. Can this be :tmy advantage? Allong6 says no; he thinks that there is nothing in nature answering to these straight - I lines,which he looks upon as an intrusionand an interference, and he will not use paper in which TWIG CHARCOAL. they occur. On the other hand, Lalanne has a strong preference for thispapier verg6. An artist may do as he likeswith charcoal or with anything else. He may, of course, take a piece of hard charcoal and draw in pure line with it, if he prefers line, or he may draw in line first,then fixit, and add auxiliary shade with a stump, answering the same purpose as a sepia wash on a line in indelible ink; or, again, he may begin by shading his subject and then mark organic lines upon it wvherever he feels them to be necessary or useful to clear up his diawing and give it a decision andl accent. All these PAPERISTUMP. methods are legitimate enough, but the true spiritor genius of charcoal drawing is in the interpretation of nature by pure shade with no assistance from line, ancl the use of charcoal in this sense is the best dis cipline that it affords to painters of all kinds as well PAPER LEATHER STUMP. STUMP. as to etchers and engravers. It has been found by experience that charcoal is one a rag as soon as it had served its purpose. Very few of the surest and most convenientmeans forshading spaces correctly. I do not intend to imply that the examples in pure carbon are extant, although, in com be more accurate than those in a bination with chalk, there are many. The vigorous shades it gives wvill wvater-color or oil monochrome, but theymay be drawing by Rubens reproduced on page 132, appar ently, is in simple charcoal. Mr. Hamerton holds equally truthful,equally delicate, and they are su charcoal drawing in high esteem. Let us quote a perior in convenience and facilityof application, and also of alteration. few paragraphs from " The Graphic Arts": I have said that the shades of charcoal may be as The modern art is really a painter's art, and the as those ofwater-color or oil practised by some delicate and as truthful daughter of painting. Itwas first Frenich painters, ofwhom Decamps and Troyon are the monochromes. This requires just one little restric best known beyond the limits of their own country. tionor reserve. They are quite as delicate, and they Since their time thenumber of fusinisteshas immense are not less truthfulin all parts of the scale except the but charcoal cannot get quite so low ly increased inFrance. Almost everypainter has used very lowvest, charcoal more or less ; it is constantly employed for down in thebass notes as some other kinds of draw studies in the schools of art; and landscape-painters ing. Its most intense blacks are not so dark as those work fromnature. At the present date which may be easily obtained in black chalk, or in use it in their the best-knownmasters of charcoal in landscape are sepia. Charcoal, by itswant of intense blackness, does not Allong6 and Appian, who are painters; and Lalanne, the celebrated etcher. Among painters of the figure go to the lowest notes of chalk, and, therefore,to give that it as possible, it is desirable it as large a scale who have made a separate reputation by their draw white or verynearly ings in charcoal, I do not know of one who excels should be on paper either perfectly Ldon Lhermitte in every importantquality of the art. so. Pure white papers are cold, but this is remedied

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