Master Drawing Mondays: Week 17

Portrait of Denis Diderot by Louis-Michel Van Loo

Portrait de Diderot, by Louis-Michel, Van Loo, Musée du Louvre

In honor of my time at Château d’Orquevaux, I present a portrait of Denis Diderot by Louis-Michel Van Loo.

Denis Diderot’s daughter, Marie-Angelique married Abel Nicolas Francois Caroillon du Vandeul and they lived in the Château here in Orquevaux, which is now an international artist and writer’s residency.

This portrait can be drawing with carbon pencil or sharp charcoal with white chalk for highlights. I especially love how the white highlights follow the contour of the forms of the face.

A brown paper by Strathmore or the Canson Ingres paper would be perfect for this drawing. However, if you like to keep your drawings in a notebook, no special paper is needed for Master Drawing Mondays.

The key principle here is to spend time looking closely and studying the quality of line of an old Master Drawing.


Wait… I missed what all of this is about!

The challenge of Master Drawing Mondays is to set aside time to copy a drawing. You can either choose from a book, or I will provide a weekly prompt from a museum collection. If you are on social media, use the hashtag #MasterDrawingMonday and tag me on Instagram @SarahHI. Let’s see how many out-of-practice artists we can encourage to take up a regular practice of copying the old masters!

Thank you @kipic.dusan

Share your drawings on social media, or hang it on your mom’s fridge!

#MasterDrawingMondays


#MasterDrawing Mondays is free and open to anyone. All of the links on this page are to outside sources. I do not receive compensation for any sales of books or art supplies.

Sarah

A figurative sculptor for over 20 years, Sarah tells monumental stories in clay, bronze, and stone.

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