Silverpoint

The arch in perspective

A round arch seen head-on as a semicircle, then seen obliquely as half an ellipse inside a foreshortened square, with the keystone staying at the top of the centre lineHEAD ONcentre on the springing lineOBLIQUE · SAME ARCHapex moves toward the near sidefar half is narrowerDraw the perspective square first, then fit the curve inside it. Never draw thecurve freehand from memory.Cotman's Rievaulx arches and Meryon's bridge are ellipses that know which square they live in.
FigureAn arch in perspective
FoundationLine

The arch in perspective

Bridge arches after Meryon

Construct round arches seen obliquely as ellipses inside foreshortened squares.

Difficulty
Time
about 1 h
You draw with
2H, HB, 2B
An arch in perspectiveThe round archDividing bays in perspectiveWater as a mirror

Why this one

  • Unit 4 of the program: Line: the Draughtsman's Half.
  • A row of arches whose curves belong to their wall, apexes shifted toward the viewer, shrinking correctly along the span.

From your kit

The whole kit →
  1. 1Grafwood 2H, HB, 2B 2H, 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
  • 2H, HB, 2B
  • A photo of a bridge or arcade seen at an angle

Watch first

All videos →

Longer, covers dividing bays and off-page vanishing points.

YouTube
How to draw architecture using two-point perspective, narratedCircle Line Art School · Applied to an old building with a tower.Cotman in Normandy: curator's lectureDulwich Picture Gallery · Timothy Wilcox on the Normandy tours and the Architectural Antiquities etchings. The architectural half of this course, explained by its curator.

The plan

4 stages · ~56 min
  1. 1

    Head-on first

    17 min

    Draw a square. Find its centre with diagonals. Draw a semicircle from the bottom corners through the top centre: a round arch head-on, its centre on the springing line. Mark the keystone at the top of the centre line.

    A round arch seen head-on as a semicircle, then seen obliquely as half an ellipse inside a foreshortened square, with the keystone staying at the top of the centre lineHEAD ONcentre on the springing lineOBLIQUE · SAME ARCHapex moves toward the near sidefar half is narrowerDraw the perspective square first, then fit the curve inside it. Never draw thecurve freehand from memory.Cotman's Rievaulx arches and Meryon's bridge are ellipses that know which square they live in.
    FigureSquare first, then the curve. Head-on and oblique.
    Checklist0 / 1
  2. 2

    Oblique

    17 min

    Draw the same square in two-point perspective: verticals plumb, top and bottom converging. Diagonals for the centre. Drop the centre line. Fit the curve: it springs from the bottom corners, touches the top at the centre line, and its apex has moved toward the near side. Draw three arches in a row along a receding wall using the dividing-bays method.

    Checklist0 / 1
  3. 3

    After Meryon

    17 min

    From your photo, or from the Petit Pont, draw the bridge: eye level, the row of arches constructed in their foreshortened squares, the voussoirs suggested by three joints radiating from each centre, the reflections below as verticals broken by horizontals.

    The Petit Pont, Meryon, 1850
    Cleveland Museum of Art

    Meryon, The Petit Pont, 1850. etching with engraving.

    Meryon, The Petit Pont. Arches in their squares, reflections below.

    The Cleveland Museum of Art · John L. Severance Fund

    Checklist0 / 1
  4. 4

    Self-check

    5 min

    Tick each item honestly. If one is a no, the session is not finished; go back to that step.

    Checklist0 / 3

What it should look like

  • A row of arches whose curves belong to their wall, apexes shifted toward the viewer, shrinking correctly along the span.

Where it goes wrong

  • A symmetrical arch on an oblique wall. Drawn from memory, not constructed. Square first. Every time.

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 ~60 min

Status

How did it go?

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