Silverpoint

The Pyramid of Gaius Cestius

The Pyramid of Gaius Cestius, from Views of Rome, Piranesi, 1750/59, published 1800–07
Art Institute of Chicago

Piranesi, The Pyramid of Gaius Cestius, from Views of Rome, 1750/59, published 1800–07. Etching on heavy ivory laid paper.

Pins mark where to look before you draw.

The Art Institute of Chicago · The Charles Deering Collection

Master studyLine + Mass

The Pyramid of Gaius Cestius

One enormous plane, tiny figures

From the Views of Rome, 1750s: the pyramid tomb by the Protestant Cemetery, one vast plane graded from light to dark, gnarled trees, a few figures that make it enormous. The gradient lesson at monumental scale, and the figures-for-scale lesson in its purest form.

Difficulty
Time
about 3 h
You draw with
H, HB, 2B, 4B graphite
A smooth gradientFigures for scaleThe framing deviceTone from line

Why this one

  • A single plane graded without a band, with texture only where the eye lands.
  • Figures as the measure of monumentality.

From your kit

The whole kit →
  1. 1Grafwood H, HB, 2B, 4B H, HB for layout and line; 2B, 4B 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 →

The whole Vedute series paged through. Note how small the figures are and how large Rome becomes.

YouTube
Visions: Regarding PiranesiThe University of Melbourne · A proper talk on how Piranesi built his plates and why they still work.Printmaking process: intaglioMinneapolis Institute of Art · Four minutes that make every etching in this catalogue legible: ground, needle, acid, ink, wipe, press.

The plan

4 stages · ~180 min
  1. 1

    Envelope and figures

    20 min

    The pyramid as a triangle on the eye level. Place the figures first: tiny.

    Checklist0 / 1
  2. 2

    The gradient

    80 min

    Hatch the pyramid's face as a gradient in layers, each starting later. No bands.

    A smooth gradient built from overlapping circular scumble layers, compared with a streaky gradient made from single-direction strokesWRONG · BANDED, ONE DIRECTIONRIGHT · LAYERED, EACH PASS STARTS LATERlayer 1 covers all, layer 2 starts later, layer 3 later still...Change stroke direction between layers and the bands vanish. Blend with a stump only at the very end, if atall.
    FigureEach layer starts later.
    Checklist0 / 1
  3. 3

    Texture and trees

    60 min

    Stone texture in two patches only. Trees as dark hatched masses on the right.

    Checklist0 / 1
  4. 4

    Audit

    20 min

    Squint. Box.

    Checklist0 / 1

What it should look like

  • A pyramid that looks forty metres tall because of three people the size of commas.

Where it goes wrong

  • Texture across the whole face. Stone. Patches. The gradient is the form.

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 ~180 min

Status

How did it go?

Up nextView of Ponte Lugano on the Anio

Before this, ideally

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