HISTORY OF DRAWING

Drawing is one of the oldest forms of human expression, with evidence for its existence preceding that
of written communication. It is believed that drawing was used as a specialised form of communication
before the invention of the written language, demonstrated by the production of cave and rock
paintings around 30,000 years ago (Art of the Upper Paleolithic).These drawings, known as pictograms,
depicted objects and abstract concepts.The sketches and paintings produced by Neolithic times were
eventually stylised and simplified in to symbol systems (proto-writing) and eventually into early writing
systems.

Before the widespread availability of paper, 12th-century monks in European monasteries used intricate
drawings to prepare illustrated, illuminated manuscripts on vellum and parchment. Drawing has also
been used extensively in the field of science, as a method of discovery, understanding and explanation.

Drawing diagrams of observations is an important part of scientific study.

In 1609, astronomer Galileo Galilei explained the changing phases of Venus and also the sunspots
through his observational telescopic drawings.In 1924, geophysicist Alfred Wegener used illustrations to
visually demonstrate the origin of the continents.

Drawing is used to express one's creativity, and therefore has been prominent in the world of art.
Throughout much of history, drawing was regarded as the foundation for artistic practice. Initially,
artists used and reused wooden tablets for the production of their drawings.Following the widespread
availability of paper in the 14th century, the use of drawing in the arts increased. At this point, drawing
was commonly used as a tool for thought and investigation, acting as a study medium whilst artists were
preparing for their final pieces of work.The Renaissance brought about a great sophistication in drawing
techniques, enabling artists to represent things more realistically than before, and revealing an interest
in geometry and philosophy.

The invention of the first widely available form of photography led to a shift in the hierarchy of the
arts.Photography offered an alternative to drawing as a method for accurately representing visual
phenomena, and traditional drawing practice was given less emphasis as an essential skill for artists,
particularly so in Western society.

Drawing became significant as an art form around the late 15th century, with artists and master
engravers such as Albrecht Dürer and Martin Schongauer (c. 1448-1491), the first Northern engraver
known by name. Schongauer came from Alsace, and was born into a family of goldsmiths. Albrecht
Dürer, a master of the next generation, was also the son of a goldsmith.

Old Master Drawings often reflect the history of the country in which they were produced, and the
fundamental characteristics of a nation at that time. In 17th-century Holland, a Protestant country,
there were almost no religious artworks, and, with no King or court, most art was bought privately.
Drawings of landscapes or genre scenes were often viewed not as sketches but as highly finished works
of art. Italian drawings, however, show the influence of Catholicism and the Church, which played a
major role in artistic patronage. The same is often true of French drawings, although in the 17th century
the disciplines of French Classicism meant drawings were less Baroque than the more free Italian
counterparts, which conveyed a greater sense of movement.

In the 20th century Modernism encouraged "imaginative originality and some artists' approach to
drawing became less literal, more abstract. World-renowned artists such as Pablo Picasso, Andy Warhol
and Jean-Michel Basquiat helped challenge the status quo, with drawing being very much at the centre
of their practice, and often re-interpreting traditional technique.

Basquiat's drawings were produced in many different mediums, most commonly ink, pencil, felt-tip or
marker, and oil-stick, and he drew on any surface that came to hand, such as doors, clothing,
refrigerators, walls and baseball helmets.

ORIGIN OF DRAWING
The origin of Drawing is as old as man. In an instrumental, subordinate role, it developed along
with the other arts in antiquity and the Middle Ages. Yester years, people drew pictures to
show their own and other peoples’ ideas. The sketches then were crude and were on clay
tablets. Ancient Egyptian stone mansions made plans for the pyramids and many other
structures on papyrus, slabs of limestone and in some occasions on wood. However, when the
actual construction begins, they drew several lines on the ground in other tolocate important
position of large stone blocks for temples and other big structures. 1-li story made us to
understand that the Romans were probably the first to make the best mechanical drawings of
the classical period. They provided highly detailed sketches and pictures for their buildings
roadways, temples, and aqueducts.Drawing was recognized as a means of recording, for
example, the features of the great, as in the portrait drawings by Albrecht Durer, Hans Holbein,
or the french court artists of the 16th century, some of which correspond to no known
paintings. Rembrandt, a prolific draughtsman, seldom used his drawings for preparing paintings
or etchings but treated them as an independent from.. (Encyclopaedia Britannica, 2002)

In the early 17th century, Jacqucs Callot of france recorded with the pen his clever inventions
and great picture stories, primarily in bold abbreviations. Most Dutch painters of the 17th
century, such as the Van de Velde family, Brouwer, Van Ostade, Pieter Saenredam, and Paulus
Potter, were also industrious draftsmen who recorded their special thematic concerns in
drawing that were largely completed land scape, drawing was initiated by the brothers
Agostino and Anniable Carracci and further developed by Domenichino and Salvator Rosa in
Italy in the 17th Century.In African generally and Nigeria specifically, drawing signifies various
cultural beliefs and traditions religions, and thinking perceptions of people’s ideals. Cultural
according to Tylor can be define as the complex whole of man's acquisitions of knowledge,
morals, beliefs, arts, customs, technologies, etc., Which are shared and transmitted from
generation to generation. This is why in the African traditional setting; all these and their beliefs
are always reflected in their sketches and graphics, since drawing is often a stage preliminary to
work in a more substantial medium, such as printing , sculpture, or architecture (Encyclopedia
Britannica; 2002) The Yorubas and the Kanuris used to make sketches of what to carve on
gourds and calabashes, coal and stone and sometimes experiment by first drawing with
forefinger or stick on the ground or clay. The fulanis do their own drafting of weaving styles on
leather shoes, hand fans, etc directly. The Bennins and the Awka people in

Anambra state of Nigeria are not left out in their bronze casting and blacksmithing of knife.
Fabrication designs respectively using direct approach on the object to cast or on the mould
pattern and on the metal directly. Freehand sketches are not uncommon in most of the designs
done in African, they are done without the use of any instrument. Their designs, were rough
and unredefined but at least showed to some extent element of graphic designed. More
recently different Adire (TRADITIONAL) after pouring pap Wax etc. On the clothing before
dyeing) patterns are drawn with forefingers or sticks on the clothing before dying. In the African
setting , differently weaving styles and embroidery patterns on flowing gowns, and other
traditional dresses used to be drawn with hand on hard papers and then transferred to the
dress using needle and thread. Different patterns used to be made on pots to make them look
attractive and to manifest the cultural beliefs of different ethnic groups using stones or sticks
when it is still wet before firing them in the kiln. Incisions are made on hands, chests, legs,
cheeks, etc to reflect cultural beliefs and family background of new born babies using sharp
objects such as sharpened stones and knives.In the fast developing Society, an engineer plays a
vital role. He is rightly called "The Creator" a man who puts his imagination into actual practice.
He thinks of problems in his mind and conveys them to others through the language of
systematic lines. It is this language of ^stematic lines which is called technical drawing.
Therefore, an engineer must have knowledge of this language to project his ideas correctly on
the paper and then execute the job efficiency and effectively with the help of this drawing.Since
the modern research work in engineering depends mainly upon engineering drawing. It is
therefore, necessary for an engineer to acquire a good working knowledge about the subject in
order to express and record the shape, size and other information necessary for the
construction of various objects such as building, roads, bridges, structures, machines etc.

35,000 BCE Charcoal and ochre,cave pictograms appear in modern day France and Spain.

3,000 BCE Ancient Egyptians cover the walls of their tombs with linear drawings of daily life.

100s-1300s Europeans begin making their first paper. France’s first paper mill opens in 1338.

1413 Filippo Brunelleschi,demonstrated the geometrical method of perspective by painting the outlines
of various Florentine buildings onto a mirror.

1420s-1430s The majority of Florentine artists (and throughout Italy) begin to use geometrical
perspective in their paintings.

1564 Graphite came into widespread use following the discovery of a large graphite deposit in
Borrowdale, England

1616 Astronomer Galileo explained the changing phases of the moon through his observational
drawings.

1761Faber-Castell is established in Nuremberg, Germany.

1830s-1840s Honoré Daumier, best known for caricature and satire drawings of political figures, creates
some of his most influential works.

1867 Master draftsman Jean Auguste-Dominique Ingres dies from pneumonia, leaving behind 4,000
drawings.

1890s Aubrey Beardsley creates Art Nouveau ink illustrations, most famously for Oscar Wilde's play
Salome.

1913 Norman Rockwell’s first published magazine cover illustration, Scout at Ship’s Wheel, appears on
Boys’ Life September edition.
1979 Betty Edwards publishes her revolutionary drawing process book, Drawing on the Right Side of the
Brain.

1987 Copic sketch makers make their international debut.

2012 Raphael’s drawing Head of a Young Apostle sells for $47.8 million.

WHO INVENTED DRAWING

These drawings on the walls of Chauvet Cave in southern France date from around 32,000-30,000
B.C.E.:Panel of Horses, ca. 30,000 BCE. Chauvet Cave, FrancePanel of Horses, ca. 30,000 B.C.E. Chauvet Cave,
France

This aboriginal artwork from Australia may be even older, dating back to around 40,000 BCE: Aboriginal rock
art, Ubirr Art Site, Kakadu National Park, Australia, ca. 40,000 B.C.E.Aboriginal rock art, Ubirr Art Site, Kakadu
National Park, Australia, ca. 40,000 B.C.E.

Prehistoric artists used natural materials to create pigments they could draw with, such as red ochre and
black charcoal. Ochre is a natural earth pigment that comes in a variety of colors from red to yellow and
sometimes even purple depending on the amount of iron oxide, hematite, or other pigments mixed in with it.
Black charcoal is made by burning tree branches (imagine the last time you had a campfire); the charred bits
of wood that are leftover can be used as charcoal. Prehistoric artists would apply the pigments with their
fingers, sticks, blown through a hollow piece of bone, or by applying the pigment directly to the walls of
caves.

Drawing predates language, and these cave paintings were likely a way for prehistoric people to
communicate things like which animals were available for hunting in the area.

Paper and the pulp-making process is said to have developed in China in the 2nd century A.D. Before that,
the Chinese produced ink drawings and paintings on silk. The process of making paper spread from China,
through the Middle East, and into Europe by the 13th century. Some of the most beautiful examples of
drawing during this time can be found in the practice of calligraphy, which is a type of artful writing done with
a brush or pen.

The Drunken Monk, Li Gonglin, Chinese, ca. 1049 – 1106, Southern Song Dynasty, ink and color on paperThe
Drunken Monk, Li Gonglin, Chinese, ca. 1049 – 1106, Southern Song Dynasty, ink and color on
paper.European Monasteries from the 7th to 15th centuries produced beautiful, hand illustrated manuscripts
filled with calligraphy on vellum or parchment made from animal hides. One of the oldest examples of the
illuminated manuscript is the Codex Vaticanus, which has been dated to the 4th century.

In about the 13th century, papermaking techniques arrived in Europe. Making paper was easier and less time
consuming than stretching, cleaning, and drying animal hides for vellum and artists began using paper more
and more frequently. Even still, drawings weren’t considered fine art. Due to the lack of reverence paid them
as well as poor conservation, not many drawings still exist from this time period.

In the Renaissance (ca. 1330 – 1550 CE), drawing became much more popular than in previous centuries and
was considered the foundation for any work in the arts. Before students could learn to paint, sculpt, or build,
they first had to learn to draw accurately. During this time period, artists began to draw from the live nude
figure for the first time and because of this, figures in drawings and paintings developed greater
realism.Drawings weren’t done exclusively on paper; mural artists would draw their composition onto plaster
first before painting it. Making multiple studies helped the artist work out any trouble areas before drawing it
at a massive scale (if you can’t draw it small, you won’t be able to draw it big either).Some artists would draw
out their composition on a large piece of sturdy paper (like lightweight cardboard) and poke small holes along
all their lines. Then they would hold it up to the wall and strike it with a bag full of charcoal, so when the
paper was removed, they would have a perfect outline of their drawing on the wall. This is called a
cartoon.Fifteenth-century Flemish artists preferred the precision of metalpoint on white paper. This
technique is done by preparing a sheet of paper with a primer or gesso then drawing with a piece of metal
(usually silver, though copper and gold are also used) instead of graphite.

It was around this time that the first blueprints for the pencils that we know and love today were invented.
An Italian couple, Simonio and Lyndiana Bernacotti, hollowed out sticks of juniper wood and inserted a stick
of graphite in the center. Before this, artists would wrap sticks of graphite with sheepskin or string to keep it
from breaking and to keep the artists’ hands clean. When people first discovered graphite in the early 1500’s,
they thought it was a type of lead compound, which is why to this day we still call it a “pencil lead” even
though there is absolutely no lead in it. In fact, modern pencil leads are a mixture of graphite powder and
clay that are then fired in a kiln. By varying the ratio of clay to graphite, the hardness of the pencil changes.In
the 17th and 18th centuries, the importance of absolute precision and accuracy in drawing gave way to a
freer handling that reflected the interests of the Baroque style in art. The art of the Baroque was exaggerated
to produce drama and grandeur and was intended to impress viewers.Peter Paul Rubens and Rembrandt van
Rijn are perfect examples of this newer, more dynamic style.

In the 19th and 20th centuries, manufactured pencils were widely available and became the preferred
medium for most draftsmen. Artists like Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres refined pencil drawing techniques.
Ingres paid close attention to line and contour, leaving some areas of the drawing suggested rather than fully
rendered.

IMPORTANCE OF DRAWING
The importance of drawing is essential and ever-present in the artistic creation process, and that's why it is very hard to define. Actually,
the drawings are essentially linear and modest of size and these are made with a marking tool on a monochrome support. A wider definition
would include the use of tonal surfaces supplementing or after circumstances, replace the linear elements, as well as reduced the use of
polychrome variations both in line and tone. Even this expression can’t include the reality of many artworks which should be regarded as
drawings, by the consensus showed both the artists and art historians. In essence, the drawing is an two-dimensional art form characterized by
the following factors: an element which produces signs used in a direct way, the color is limited, often one or two tones, and the paper which
often is used as support. To define the drawing only based on physical properties would not grasp a basic truth about drawing. A greater
importance for understanding the drawing is clarifying its purpose, what role it plays in the visual artist's creative effort which is in full artistic
activity.The sculptors, the painters and the architects draw constantly. They draw to study, to remember or to clarify their own ideas. They
draw for pleasure, by moving a tool they produce a line which it likes to the eye and using the hand in a rhythmic and satisfactory activity.
Many drawings are straightforward and spontaneous. Often, the drawings are an intuitive response to an experience or an idea which must
be necessarily put on paper. And finally, there are those 1

Drawing is a Universal language which everybody understands.Drawing can be an effective means of communication among people.Therefore,
drawing and illustration are very important in our everyday lifebecause they afford us common understanding. On the other hand, writing takes
place in different languages and only those who understands the language can interpret the meaning.In Engineering drawing, an object is
drawn with a combination of straight and curved lines to produce the imaginary image of the object ready for manufacture or reproduction.

In engineering drawings are used as records of what has been designed and made. It provides information with clarity, accuracy for production
engineer,craftsman etc. in details to produce components /machines/ equipments.Being a graphic language, it function as a medium of
visualisation.

CONCLUSIONS

Numerous masterpieces containing drawn elements, however there is another sense larger, in which the drawing contributes at formation of artworks. Each line, each side produced or controlled by an
artist is the result of a thought process - drawing. Whether it's a sign of ink on paper, the contact between two chromatic flat surfaces or outer limits of a metal plate cut by the flame, the artist must take the
decisions which affecting the direction and length of linear motion during its training procedures. There is a difference between the drawing process and drawings. The drawing process is the operation to
make decisions which controls lines, edges and proportional relations between forms and artworks and it differs from decisions involved in choosing the colors and variables of the surface. In such manner
the artist draws whenever he works even if he could take another decisions in the same time. The drawings offer the ability to intuit the nature of open options for the artist, and actually this openness and clarity attracts
admirers and collectors to the drawings exhibitions. For many people, the emotion stimulated by drawings can’t be matched by the effect of any other visual arts. There is great potential of aesthetic response to an artwork which
the viewer is tickled to feel that he shares an intimate moment with the artist which produced it, which gives them a great satisfaction

References:

Argan, Giulio Carlo (1982), Arta modernă, vol. II, Ed. Meridiane, Bucureşti

Arnheim, Rudolf (1979), Arta şi percepţia vizuală, Ed. Meridiane, Bucureşti

Bachellard, Gaston (2003), Poetica spaţiului, Ed. Parelela 45, Piteşti

Baraschi, Constantin (1962), Tratatul de Sculptura, vol. I, II, Ed. Meridiane, București

Bartos, Jenő (2005), Structuri compoziţionale, Ed. Artes, Iaşi

Besançon, Alain (1996), Imaginea interzisă, Ed. Humanitas, Bucureşt

iBlanc, Charles (1876), Grammaire des arts du dessin, Librairie Renouard, ParisBurckhardt, Jacob (1987, Artă și istorie, Ed. Meridiane, BucureștiCassou, Jean (1971), Panorama artelor plastice contemporane, vol I, II, Ed.

https://theartofeducation.edu 

GEC 117(Module 1-3)

A drawing is simply a line going for a walk. –Paul Klee

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Lecturer PhD / „George Enescu