This research point asked us to select drawings from artists who work in contrasting ways and to reflect on them: tight, rigorous work versus a more sketchy, expressive style. I selected drawings from Henry Toulouse-Lautrec and Albrecht Durer because I found them illustrative for these differences in approach.
Henri Toulouse-Lautrec (1864 – 1901)
I chose Henry Toulouse-Lautrec as an artist with an expressive style. Toulouse-Lautrec was a french painter and draftsman, born in the south of France from where he later moved to Paris and became a central artist to portrait the “fin de siècle” decadency.
Although his drawings are dense and contain some detail, they are not attempting to be accurate in a photographic sense. They are rather sketchy and I find them very energetic. Tolouse-Lautrec didn’t seem to be very interested in texture, the drawings I saw were dominated by line and colour, and they have a very painterly appeal.
Cheval blanc (White horse), 1881
Dans le lit, le baiser (In bed, the kiss), 1982
Portrait of Vincent van Gogh, 1887
Albrecht Dürer (1471 – 1528)
Albrecht Dürer was a German painter, draftsman and engraver. His works are very detailed and accurate, and I chose some drawings to exemplify this. But Dürer also did more sketchy drawings, one of which I have included. It is a study of two horses, very lively and vivid, compared to the solidity and focus on fine details in other drawings
Man-at-arms (study of a rider), 1498, watercolour drawing
Study of two riders, around 1499
Hare, 1502
Portrait of his mother, 1514
Rhino, 1515
References
Web collection of Works by Albrecht Dürer: http://www.zeno.org/Kunstwerke/A/D%C3%BCrer,+Albrecht