La importancia del factor empleo

Henry Moore belonged to a generation of modernist sculp-tors who seemed to reject the Renaissance tradition and the vigorous naturalism of Rodin. Moore eventually looked to the art forms of non-Western cultures and the dream imagery of the collective unconscious for inspiration. Yet his many early drawings from life prove that he began his career with a sound grasp of traditional methods and a very personal,

fun-damentally sculptural way of thinking about the figure. In these early drawings Moore discovered the theme that would preoccupy him for much of his career as a sculptor: a vision of the body as a heavy object; an expression, not of internal dynamism, but of the force of gravity acting upon it.

Life studies such as Standing Figure have a palpable weight that grows from the artist’s use of pen-and-ink to develop thick outlines and a dense network of shadows.

Pen over chalk or graphite was the combination of materi-als used by Michelangelo to make his early studies of fresco paintings. Moore has used a hatching technique with the pen that is reminiscent of Michelangelo’s crosshatching, though Moore’s seems sketchy and random rather than orderly and deliberate. Moore’s figure exudes the feeling of having been desperately scratched or carved into existence out of some hard, resistant material.

Around 1930, Moore began to experiment with the Surrealist practice of “automatic” drawing, through which he generated hundreds of ideas for sculptures by initially letting go of conscious control. He explained, “I sometimes begin a drawing with no preconceived problem to solve, with only the desire to use pencil and paper, and make lines, tones, and shapes with no conscious aim. But as my mind takes in what is so produced, a point arrives where some idea becomes conscious and crystallized, and then a control DRAW SIP 09 Sculpture:AA feature 9/18/09 12:57 PM Page 138

THE BEST OF DRAWING 139

and ordering begin to take place.”

Once an idea had crystallized, Moore used complex combinations of media—chalk, ink, gouache, and wax crayons—to give a sense of bod-ily substance to the creatures of his imagination. Drawings such as Ideas for Sculpture in Metal and Wire are, in effect, highly realistic renderings of abstract forms that might poten-tially be carved or cast. Moore trans-lated only a small fraction of these ideas into wood, stone, or metal; his method of drawing produced far more ideas than he could ever carry out. Moore’s well of inspiration was virtually inexhaustible.

During World War II, Moore’s drawing gained him his first wide recognition outside the small circle of enthusiasts for avant-garde sculp-ture. Commissioned as a war artist, he documented the condition of Londoners who took refuge from German bombing in the “tubes” of

OPPOSITE PAGE, LEFT

Reclining Female Nude, One Foot Propped on Her Thigh

by Auguste Rodin, ca. 1900, graphite, 12¹⁄8x 7⁷⁄8. Collection Musée Rodin, Paris, France.

OPPOSITE PAGE, RIGHT

Cambodian Dancer en Face by Auguste Rodin, ca. 1906, graphite and watercolor, 12⁵⁄8x 9³⁄4. Collection Musée Rodin, Paris, France.

RIGHT

Standing Figure

by Henry Moore, 1923, pen-and-ink, and ink wash, 16 x 8¹⁄4. Private collection.

DRAW SIP 09 Sculpture:AA feature 9/18/09 12:58 PM Page 139

140 THE BEST OF DRAWING

DRAW SIP 09 Sculpture:AA feature 9/18/09 12:58 PM Page 140

the Underground. Today, Moore’s Shelter Drawings are considered among his greatest achievements.

Although stylistically related to his drawings for abstract sculpture, they have a timeless humanity that recon-nects Moore’s art to Renaissance tradi-tions. Pink and Green Sleepers has a powerful simplicity and monumentality worthy of Giotto.

Shortly after he completed the Shelter Drawings, Moore received a commission to carve a Madonna and Child for a church in North ampton, England. Michelangelo had received a similar commission for a church in Bruges, Belgium, in 1504. Comparing Moore’s study drawing for his commis-sion with one by Michelangelo shows the extent to which drawings by sculp-tors have changed over five centuries—

and the degree to which they have remained, in essential ways, unchanged.

In Michelangelo’s chalk drawing, the mother and child are depicted with an astonishing economy of line. In Moore’s Seated Studies of Mother and Child, he has shown a movement of the child toward the mother for nour-ishment and protection, but his draw-ings are much more heavily worked.

Using a combination of chalk, graphite, watercolor, and pen-and-ink, Moore works each drawing, searching for the right composition for his piece.

Michelangelo’s drawing encapsu-lates the lucidity and confidence of the Renaissance, Moore’s the woe and fore-boding of a world at war. Yet the germ of the sculptural idea in both drawings is identical: A large shape encloses and shelters a small one. Whether the idea is carried out in marble or wood, cast bronze or welded steel, whether it is modeled or carved, made rough or smooth, grand or sweet, realistic or abstract, these issues, which bring trou-ble and joy and ultimately success or failure to the sculptor, are determined by individual talent, historical con-ditions, and the dictates of fashion. But the process of germination transcends individuals and historical trends; and it begins, very often, with a drawing. ❖

ABOVE

Seated Studies of Mother and Child by Henry Moore, 1940, graphite, wax crayon, pen-and-ink, gouache, and by Henry Moore, 1943, bronze, height 7¹⁄6".

Collection Henry Moore Foundation, Hertfordshire, United Kingdom.

OPPOSITE PAGE, ABOVE

Ideas for Sculpture in Metal and Wire by Henry Moore, 1939, graphite, chalk, watercolor wash, and pen-and-ink, 11 x 15. Private collection.

OPPOSITE PAGE, BELOW

Pink and Green Sleepers by Henry Moore, 1941, graphite, crayon, watercolor wash, and pen-and-ink, 15 x 22. Collection Tate Gallery, London, England.

THE BEST OF DRAWING 141 DRAW SIP 09 Sculpture:AA feature 9/18/09 12:58 PM Page 141

142 THE BEST OF DRAWING

IT HELPS TO DRAW BEFORE YOU START A SCULPTURE.

I find that if I draw first, I become more familiar with the model’s proportions and body type. It also makes me more awake visually, and warms me up to that particular model.

I recommend doing sketches of the model from four views:

front, back, left side, and right side. These are contour drawings that simply show the proportional relationships, rhythms, and masses of the model.

Quick gesture studies help me find a pose that is inter-esting. I often have students do gesture drawings of the same pose from different places in the room to better ana-lyze the form and be able to visualize it in three dimensions.

Another helpful approach is to draw cross-contour lines that explore the form at right angles to the direction of the form. These lines help record the surface topography of the model and are especially useful on complex areas. A lot of

people ask about using photos, but there are distortions in photos, and unless the lighting is good they will not be that useful. They don’t record a lot of the information one can see and thus depict in a careful drawing. Drawings record in a more personal way the information needed to create a sculpture. I also use written notes, such as, “sharp edge” or

“shallow indentation.” I may record actual dimensions if I plan on doing a life-size piece.

If there’s time, fully shaded drawings with strong side-lighting will give a good sense of the form. It’s crucial to carefully render the light and shade seen on the model, then recreate the same light conditions on the sculpture as you work. This can be a problem in a classroom because the light is usually uneven in different parts of the room. If the shad-ows on your sculpture appear the same as the shadshad-ows on your drawings, then the form should also be fairly accurate.