Silverpoint

The pointed arch

Constructing an equilateral pointed arch: two arcs, each with its centre at the opposite springing point and a radius equal to the span, meeting at the apex; plus lancet and drop variantsEQUILATERAL ARCH · RADIUS = SPANspringing linecentre Bcentre Aapexr = spanVARIANTSlancet: r >spandrop: r <spanCompass on paper, thumb-and-pencil in the field. Mark the two centres, swing twoarcs, done.Melrose, Dryburgh, Rievaulx: once you can strike this arch you can draw any abbey in Britain.
FigureConstructing a pointed arch
FoundationLine

The pointed arch

Three constructions, then a window from Cley Church

Construct equilateral, lancet and drop arches, and strike one freehand from a master drawing.

Difficulty
Time
about 1 h
You draw with
2H, HB
Constructing a pointed archAn arch in perspective

Why this one

  • Unit 5 of the program: Architecture.
  • Three labelled arches that are clearly different types.
  • A freehand window head whose curves meet cleanly at the apex and spring from the right points.

From your kit

The whole kit →
  1. 1Grafwood 2H, HB 2H, HB for layout and line. 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
  • Copier paper and drawing pad
  • 2H, HB
  • A compass (for the first three only)

Watch first

All videos →

Applied to an old building with a tower.

YouTube
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.In the studio with graphite pencil artist Minty SainsburyArtfully Crafted · A living architectural pencil draughtsman at work. The closest modern analogue to the Forrest side of this course.

The plan

4 stages · ~56 min
  1. 1

    Equilateral with a compass

    17 min

    Draw a springing line and mark two points on it four inches apart. Compass radius four inches. Arc from the left point centred on the right; arc from the right point centred on the left. They meet at the apex. Drop verticals from the springing points for the jambs. This is Melrose, Dryburgh, Rievaulx.

    Constructing an equilateral pointed arch: two arcs, each with its centre at the opposite springing point and a radius equal to the span, meeting at the apex; plus lancet and drop variantsEQUILATERAL ARCH · RADIUS = SPANspringing linecentre Bcentre Aapexr = spanVARIANTSlancet: r >spandrop: r <spanCompass on paper, thumb-and-pencil in the field. Mark the two centres, swing twoarcs, done.Melrose, Dryburgh, Rievaulx: once you can strike this arch you can draw any abbey in Britain.
    FigureTwo centres, two arcs, one apex.
    Checklist0 / 1
  2. 2

    Lancet and drop

    17 min

    Same springing points. Radius six inches: the centres move outside the span and the arch rises into a lancet. Radius three inches: the centres move inside and the arch drops. Label all three. Note the apex height of each as a fraction of the span: you will sight that fraction in the field.

    Checklist0 / 1
  3. 3

    Freehand from Cotman

    17 min

    Choose one window head from Cley Church. Sight its span and its apex height on screen. Draw the springing line and points, ghost the two arcs knowing where their centres are, commit. Then the jambs. Then the sub-arches inside it the same way, each with half the span. No compass.

    Cley Church, Norfolk, Cotman, 1818
    Art Institute of Chicago

    Cotman, Cley Church, Norfolk, 1818. Graphite and gray wash on ivory wove paper.

    Cotman, Cley Church, Norfolk. Choose a window head and strike it freehand.

    The Art Institute of Chicago · Gift of Dorothy Braude Edinburg to the Harry B. and Bessie K. Braude Memorial Collection

    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

  • Three labelled arches that are clearly different types.
  • A freehand window head whose curves meet cleanly at the apex and spring from the right points.

Where it goes wrong

  • A pointed oval that bulges at the sides. Arcs centred in the wrong place. Centre each arc on the opposite springing point. The lower sides are nearly straight.

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?

Up nextTower of the Church of Haute Allemagne