Souvenir of Italy (painting)
Corot, Souvenir of Italy, 1855–60. Oil on canvas.
Pins mark where to look before you draw.
The Art Institute of Chicago · Potter Palmer Collection
Souvenir of Italy (painting)
Tall trees against an evening sky
1855 to 1860: a stand of tall trees silhouetted against a lit evening sky, a figure below, a glimpse of distance at the right. A portrait-format souvenir where the trees are a single dark silhouette and the sky does the lighting. Pair it with the etched Souvenir of Italy to see one idea in two media.
In pencilGraphite silhouette study: the tree mass as one shape against a graded sky.
- Difficulty
- Time
- about 1.5 h
- You draw with
- 2B, 4B, 6B graphite
Why this one
- Silhouette against a graded sky: two values and a gradient.
- Pairs with the etching for a media comparison.
From your kit
The whole kit →- 1Grafwood 2B, 4B, 6B 2B, 4B, 6B for the darks, on their sides for mass. Long points from the Blackwing on everything up to B.
- 2Pitt Matt 8B to 12B for the big tone passages: matt, so the dark mass reads as tone, not shine.
- 3Kneaded eraser (warm it) and the clean Mono Zero lift the lights out of the mass; the Mono Zero for sky holes and lit edges.
- 4Alpha sketchbook 9 x 6 draw at the book's size and keep the proportions; date the page.
In general, this study asks for
- Copier paper and drawing pad
- 2B, 4B, 6B on their sides
- Kneaded eraser
- Viewfinder cards
- Phone set to greyscale
Watch first
All videos →Not a lesson: a slow slideshow to leave running while you draw, to absorb the value range of a lifetime.
YouTube
The plan
3 stages · ~80 min- 1
Sky gradient
20 minPortrait format. A smooth gradient for the sky, darker at the top.
Checklist0 / 1 - 2
Silhouette by sky shapes
40 minDraw the sky shapes around and between the trees; fill the trees as one dark mass.
Checklist0 / 1 - 3
Glimpse, figure, audit
20 minPale distance at the right, dark figure below. Compare with the etching. Box.
Checklist0 / 2
What it should look like
- A dark tree silhouette on a graded sky, tall.
Where it goes wrong
- Detail in the silhouette. Habit. It is backlit. Flat.
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.
Status
How did it go?
Before this, ideally
