• is an art form that takes complete discipline.
• Economy of stroke is valued.
• Less is more.
• Nature is often the subject
• The artist often begins by meditating before nature
• The artist "draws" in chinese characters
• Each artist has a "signature" style

The World's Best

Let's look at some of the world's best draftsmen

Leonardo Da Vinci (Italian, 1452-1519)

• Renaissance Man
  - a man with varied interests
  who is an expert in many of these areas
• Gifted artist, architect, inventor
• painter of "The Mona Lisa" and "The Last Supper"
• Click here to see more drawings by Leonardo

Michaelangelo Buonorati (Italian, 1475-1564)

• Renaissance Artist, architect, and poet
• Painter of the Sistene Chapel
• Sculptor of "David"
• Click here to see more of Michaelangelo's drawings

Raffaillo Sanzio Santi (Italian, 1483-1520)

• High Renaissance Painter
• Influenced by Michaelangelo and Leonardo
• Famous for portraits
  as well as historical
  and religious paintings
• Click here to see more of his drawings.

Albrecht Dürer (German, 1471-1528)

• Northern Renaissance Artist
• Best known for his prints
• religious and mythological themes
• animals

Peter Paul Rubens (Dutch, 1577-1640)

• Flemish Painter
• Combined the skills of Dutch artists and Italian masters
• Learned the skill of northern artists (Dürer)
• Studied in Italy - influenced by work of Leonardo and Caravaggio
• Click here to see more art by Rubens.

Rembrandt van Rijn (Dutch, 1606-1669)

• Baroque Painter and Printmaker known for
• Glowing lights
• Luminous darks
• Click here to see drawings by Rembrandt.
• Visit the Rembrandt Pavilion(optional).

Elizabeth Vigée Le Brun (French, 1755-1842)

• Neoclassical Painter
• Protraitist to Marie Antionette
• Specialized in portraits of
• Click here to see more drawings by Vigée Le Brun.

Edgar Degas (French, 1834-1917)

• Realist/Impressionist Painter
• Known for his
• skill as a draftsman
• and unusual compositions
• Click here to see more work by Degas.

Henry Ossawa Tanner
African-American (1859-1937)

• Studied in Philadelphia
• Left the United States to escape racial prejudice
• Became a famous artist in Paris
• Influenced by the Impressionists
• Click here to see more works by Tanner.

Mary Cassatt (American, 1844-1926)

• Also studied in Philadelphia
• Left the United States for France
  where a woman could more easily
  become a professional artist
• Exhibited with the Impressionists
• Known for paintings of mothers and infants/children
• Click here to see more works by Cassatt.
Visit this fantastic on-line exhibition entitled, "Mary Cassatt - Modern Woman."

Pablo Picasso(Spanish, 1881-1973)

• Known for his virtuosic drawing ability
• Could master any style
• Invented Cubism (with his friend Georges Braque)
• Picasso is supposed to have said
  - "When I was a child
  I drew like Michelangelo.
  It took me years to learn
  to draw like a child."
  (Lucy Lippard, Mixed Blessings, p. 76)
• Pablo Picasso at the Hermitage Museum
• Some drawings by Picasso

Willem de Kooning (Dutch/American, 1904-1997)

• Abstract Expressionist painter and sculptor
• Click here to see more work by de Kooning.

Jackson Pollock (American, 1912-1956)

• Abstract Expressionist painter
• Also known as "Jack the Dripper"
  - because he dripped and
  splattered paint onto the canvas
• Visit this on-line exhibit. Be sure to click on "the process." It shows how Pollock painted.

Which one is the best of all time?