Inspired by the Old Masters

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Artwork and story from Mary

Hello, I’m Mary!

Since my early childhood, I have visited many museums and galleries, and I have always been impressed by the work of great Renaissance and Baroque painters. I enjoy gazing at the smallest details and the wonderful use of colours and tones.

All this exposure to great masterpieces made me want to produce art myself and explore the endless possibilities of artistic creation.

The drawing of the girl that I submitted is titled “La fille à la vache”. It was inspired by a character in a novel by the French author, Maupassant. It may seem unfinished at first glance. However, leaving her features with no colour was done on purpose. I did that to put emphasis on her red hair, which symbolises the flames of love, seduction, and temptation as these traits align perfectly with the character in the book. Red hair is a recurrent subject in classical art. We find in Botticelli’s famous Birth of Venus that he portrayed the goddess of love and beauty with flame-coloured hair. During the Middle Ages, redheads were considered witches and burnt alive, and thus, red hair became a symbol for evil.

Many artists have also used red hair for Eve as a symbol of the original sin and temptation. Dürer’s Adam and Eve (1507) is a remarkable example of the use of this symbol.

That’s why I used sanguine and a bit of sepia to draw this character and highlight her traits with the deep historical and artistic symbolism behind the red hair.

As an aspiring artist, I struggle mainly with depicting the forms and depths. I also find it difficult to draw from memory and imagination. I truly want to have a better understanding of tonal values and improve my technique in drawing many subjects such as the human body, animals, and architecture.

That’s why I think that Drawing Academy will help me improve my skills and give me the ability to express myself through art. Drawing Academy’s courses focus on details and give me the freedom to learn with my own pace as a student with a busy schedule.