DRAWING

a history
 ORIGINS OF DRAWING
• Drawing is as old as art. The first drawings
go back to the Superior Paleolithic Age,
35,000 years ago, when the Homo
sapiens represented animals they hunted
on cave surfaces. Examples can be found
in caves throughout Europe.
 Draw Like an Egyptian!
• Thousands of years later, the Egyptians
decorated the pyramids. By then, drawing
had evolved substantially from the single-
colored and static composition of
prehistory, to the balanced, thorough and
brightly colored art of the gods in the
temples.
 When In Rome…
• In Rome, solid constructions were
necessary to hold up from the continuous
attacks of the invaders. Drawings were
made to illustrate these buildings. The first
maps arose and with them the architecture
was born. The technical drawing required
a newer technique and more mathematical
knowledge.
“Paper, Paper, Get Your Paper Here!”

• Not until the late 14th century does

drawing begin to stand on it’s own, with
the introduction of paper. Unlike the
parchment of an illuminated manuscript, a
sheet of paper is cheap enough to be used
for a sketch. Unlike the slow and important
task of painting a wall or a panel, drawing
on paper is a process suitable for
experimenting.
“Weltchronik”:
14th-century
carriage
 Let There Be Light!
• Starting in the 15th century, the female nude
begins to show up often and artists return to the
study of the human figure. Close observation of
light and shades, together with perspective, help
drawings show more realistic volume. A
manifestation of artists demonstrates this new
development, including El Greco, Sandro
Boticelli and Leonardo da Vinci.
 Modern Drawing

• From the 19th century

onwards, the uniformity that
had followed the history of
drawing was broken. Drawing
forked in a multitude of
styles….
Surrealism
Romanticism
Expressionism
Cubism
Futurism