Drawing as a Universal Language: From Rembrandt to John Wilson

The painter Jean-Auguste Dominique Ingres advised artists to “draw with your eyes when you cannot draw with a pencil.” By analyzing sketches, preparatory studies, and finished works,  viewers can gain insight into an artist’s creative process. This course focuses on understanding the different elements of drawing as a universal language that propels the visual arts. Drawings captivate us with their expressive brevity and technical mastery, challenging us to respond with empathy and imagination. With an eye to teasing out the concepts, techniques, and materials that their creators employed, we will look at drawings by a diverse group of artists such as Pierre Soulages, John Wilson, John Singer Sargent, Mary Cassatt, Suzanne Valadon, Raphael Sanzio, Rembrandt, Van Gogh, Seurat, and Cezanne.
Continuing Education Units (CEU) : 0

You'll walk away with

• Analyze the techniques, materials, and processes used by artists in sketches, preparatory studies, and finished drawings.
• Interpret drawings as a universal visual language, understanding their expressive, technical, and conceptual dimensions.
• Evaluate the creative evolution of artists across historical periods through close study of diverse works, from Renaissance masters to modern innovators.

Ideal for

• Art enthusiasts
• Prospective and practicing arts professionals