Find out about pentimenti (mistakes in master drawings) and restatements and find examples of them in famous drawings. Log your findings.
I started my research with a Google search and as usual, began by reading the Wikipedia page to get a quick overall idea of the term. Wikipedia explains pentimenti not as errors, but rather as “change of mind during composition”, followed by a restatement during the process of painting.
These changes are not normally visible in the final work, but sometimes they reappear due to chemical processes while the painting ages over time. They can also be traced using techniques like X-rays and infrared light. They are quite frequent in the works of old masters and are even interpreted as sign of an initial, original work, because secondary versions or copies rarely have them.
The article mentions several examples:
– The portrait of Jacques de Norvins by Ingres painted in 1811-12. Originally, there had been a bust of Napoleon’s son which was later overpainted with a curtain after Napoleon’s fall
– The Cardsharps by Caravaggio with several minor alteration that could be detected using infrared light
– A work by Zurbarán titled Christ and the Virgin in the House at Nazareth, where a white cloth was expanded later and the expanded area appeared in a darker overall tone.
The article provides references to other famous examples of pentimenti.
One of these was a painting originally by Giovanni Bellini, titled the Feast of the Gods. The WebExhibits website explains the fascinating story around this painting, which had been overpainted by other artists later – first by Dosso Dossi and then by Titian who completed the final version. But the painting had become transparent with age, revealing the ruins of a building which Dosso painted on the original.
I find the topic interesting, but I am asking myself why it is included in the course materials – I’d have expected it in a painting course. Does it have any relevance for drawing? I don’t know.
References
Wikipedia article on Pentimento
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pentimento
WebExhibits: Scientific analysis of the Feast of Gods painting:
http://www.webexhibits.org/feast/analysis/reconstructing.html