Sketch of Landscape with Cathedral
n.d. · Graphite on ivory wove card, tipped onto ivory wove card · 6.9 × 14.4 cm (2 3/4 × 5 11/16 in.)
Cotman, Sketch of Landscape with Cathedral, n.d.. Graphite on ivory wove card, tipped onto ivory wove card.
The Art Institute of Chicago · The Leonora Hall Gurley Memorial Collection
How to look at a Cotman
- Squint at a Cotman until it becomes a jigsaw of three values. Notice the pieces are large and few.
- Follow the main arch at Rievaulx and find the two springing points. The curve is constructed, not guessed.
- In the Normandy castle in graphite, count the stones actually drawn. Then notice where they are: edges, openings, near the ground.
