The Petit Pont
Meryon, The Petit Pont, 1850. etching with engraving.
Pins mark where to look before you draw.
The Cleveland Museum of Art · John L. Severance Fund
The Petit Pont
Eye level through the figures, a bridge, towers behind
1850, etching with engraving: the little bridge over the Seine with the towers of Notre-Dame behind, figures on the quay giving the eye level, the river in horizontals. A slightly simpler Meryon than the Apse and the better first copy.
- Master
- Charles Meryon
- Difficulty
- Time
- about 3 h
- You draw with
- H, HB, 2B graphite
Why this one
- Eye level found from figures on a real plate.
- Receding quay buildings tilting toward the eye level.
From your kit
The whole kit →- 1Grafwood H, HB, 2B H, HB for layout and line; 2B for the darks. Long points from the Blackwing on everything up to B.
- 2Kneaded eraser and the Mono Zero press-and-lift corrections only; the Mono Zero for a single sharp light.
- 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 →A street in one point from a blank page. The Old College Wynd set-up.
YouTube
The plan
4 stages · ~180 min- 1
Eye level
15 minThrough the figures' heads. Draw it.
Checklist0 / 1 - 2
Structure
60 minBridge arches from centres; quay buildings receding; towers plumb.
Checklist0 / 2 - 3
Tone
90 minCounted layers; river in horizontals.
Checklist0 / 1 - 4
Audit
15 minSquint. Box.
Checklist0 / 1
What it should look like
- A Paris bridge in counted pencil, with a believable eye level.
Where it goes wrong
- Towers leaning toward the river's vanishing point. Pulled by the receding lines. Plumb. Check against the page edge.
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
