I have been exploring the art of drawing in metalpoint and there are examples of work in the ON-LINE PORTFOLIO gallery Following the Line.
In order to understand and better appreciate metalpoint as a drawing technique, it is useful to have a brief understanding of the history.
The use of a metal point or stylus has its origins in the ancient history of writing. Metal styli were used by the ancient Egyptians to write on wax tablets and the ancient Sumerians used clay as a support. Papyrus and animal skins with other writing tools and ink were in use by the ancient Greeks, however papyrus became less readily available and animal skins were increasingly used.
Metal styli were used in early medieval manuscript illumination to indent the skin to create lines for the scribe to write on. At this time metal styli were also in common use for drawing. These drawings were made on skins or wooden panels often of boxwood treated with a bone ash ground mixed with saliva or animal skin glue. In medieval studios these drawings were made into sketch or pattern books for reference by students and were passed down from generation to generation. When drawing with a metal point the permanence of the line produced can be seen as a problem, however this permanence was an advantage over the impermanence of charcoal for drawings and sketches intended as preparatory studies for working use.
Cennino Cennini in his 15th Century “Il Libro dell Arte” or Craftsman’s Handbook advises students how to draw with a metal point and how to prepare vellum (calf skin) tablets or boxwood panels with a mixture of bone ash and saliva ground on a porphyry or stone slab.
“Take bone from the second joints and wings of fowls or a capon; the older they are the better. Just as you find them under the dining table, put them into the fire and when you see that they have turned whiter than ashes, draw them out, and grind them well on the porphyry”
The portability of prepared metalpoint books and styli were popular with travelers removing the need to carry ink or an implement that required sharpening. For example, Albrecht Durer used a metalpoint sketchbook on his travels through the Netherlands 1520/1521.
During the Renaissance, metalpoint drawing was at its height and one of the most exquisite and technically perfect works is Leonardo da Vinci’s drawing of a warrior in silverpoint on prepared paper c.1475/1480. At this time metalpoint on grounds tinted with pink, bluish or greenish grey pigments was also becoming increasingly popular. These tinted grounds allowed the addition of white highlights enabling the artist to portray a greater sense of depth and form. We see exquisite examples of this technique by artists such as Leonardo da Vinci, Filippino Lippi and Raphael where white has been added to delicate silverpoint drawings to wonderful effect.
Whilst the regular practice of metalpoint drawing during the 15th and 16th centuries began to decline some artists still considered it worthy of choice. Hendrick Goltzius was an incredibly prolific silverpoint artist and used the medium for hundreds of drawings including botanical studies one of which portrays the recently introduced tobacco plant c.1585. Rembrandt too chose silverpoint for a number of studies and to draw his bride Saskia in 1633.
In the 19th century there was a resurgence in the use of a metal point for drawing and ready prepared metalpoint sketchbooks and styli became available from Windsor and Newton. Artists such as Edgar Degas and Frederick Leighton experimented with the technique, as did the Pre Raphaelites. In his drawing Pearl in 1890 Holman Hunt used silverpoint on a tinted ground highlighted with both white and yellow and scratched out highlights creating a work of art quite different from anything produced in previous centuries. The book ‘The Graphic Arts’ by Phillip Hamerton written in 1882 with instructions about the technique of silverpoint also opened up the medium to a wider Victorian audience. Whilst the French born artist Alphonse Legros also a prolific silverpoint artist and professor at the Slade School of Art, experimented with the medium and new techniques and materials leading the way for the development of the technique into the 20th century and its use by artists such as Pablo Picasso, Otto Dix and Joseph Stella.
Today a number of contemporary artists are deliberately choosing metalpoint for its precise nature and its linearity, which gives the artist the ability to portray the most exacting of nuances. Artists are also experimenting with different metal tools to create marks and areas of tone so that it can no longer be solely considered a linear medium.
In previous centuries silver and occasionally gold were the most commonly used metals, and this remains the case today. When a silver point is drawn across a prepared ground it leaves a soft grey mark that with exposure to the atmosphere will oxidize and take on a warm brown hue. Gold point however resists oxidization and remains a pale grey. Other metals can also be used such as copper, which will oxidize and take on a greenish hue. Contemporary artists are experimenting with other metals and using them in conjunction with modern supports and grounds to great effect.
I have experimented with a number of different metal points and preparing grounds for my own use. I also teach classes on metalpoint technique and there will be providing some additional information in due course.
Margaret Fitzpatrick 2021
