Silverpoint

Souvenir of the Fortifications of Douai

Souvenir of the Fortifications of Douai, Corot, 1869–70
Art Institute of Chicago

Corot, Souvenir of the Fortifications of Douai, 1869–70. Etching on ivory laid paper.

Pins mark where to look before you draw.

The Art Institute of Chicago · The Charles Deering Collection

Master studyLine + MassTowers, forts and bell towers · 1826 to 1874

Souvenir of the Fortifications of Douai

A great tree over dark water, walls behind

1869 to 1870, etching: a huge tree leaning over the moat of Douai's fortifications, a boat below, the ramparts as a low dark band behind. Architecture as a horizontal mass under a tree, drawn in dense hatching with the water in long horizontals.

Difficulty
Time
about 2.5 h
You draw with
H, HB, 2B graphite
Tone from lineBuilding a tree from massesWater as a mirrorGrouping values

Why this one

  • Fortifications as a horizontal band: architecture that is all mass and no detail.
  • Dense tree hatching over calm water hatching: two densities on one plate.

From your kit

The whole kit →
  1. 1Grafwood H, HB, 2B H, HB for layout and line; 2B for the darks. Long points from the Blackwing on everything up to B.
  2. 2Kneaded eraser and the Mono Zero press-and-lift corrections only; the Mono Zero for a single sharp light.
  3. 3Alpha sketchbook 9 x 6 draw at the book's size and keep the proportions; date the page.
In general, this study asks for
  • Drawing pad or smooth cartridge
  • 2H and H with long points
  • HB for accents
  • Kneaded eraser
  • Sandpaper block

Watch first

All videos →

Four minutes that make every etching in this catalogue legible: ground, needle, acid, ink, wipe, press.

YouTube
Cross-hatching drawing techniques: pen, ink, pencilArt Prof · Cross-hatching taught as a value system, which is how the etchers used it.

The plan

3 stages · ~140 min
  1. 1

    Three densities

    10 min

    Plan: tree four layers, ramparts two, water one.

    Checklist0 / 1
  2. 2

    Water, ramparts, tree

    110 min

    Water first in long horizontals. Ramparts as a band of two layers, silhouette only. Tree last, four layers at the core, scribbled at the edges.

    Checklist0 / 2
  3. 3

    Boat and audit

    20 min

    Boat as the darkest small mark. Squint. Box.

    Checklist0 / 1

What it should look like

  • A dark tree over calm water with a fortress that is only a band.

Where it goes wrong

  • Stones on the ramparts. It is a fort. Band. Silhouette. Two layers.

Log this session

Start the clock when you pick up the pencil. Stop it when you put it down. Log it. Every session counts toward the box.

00:00of ~150 min

Status

How did it go?

Up nextRiver with a Distant Tower

Before this, ideally

Related studies