Art Appreciation - Lecture 11 - Medium of Drawing

Exploring the Medium of Drawing in Art

This week in Art Appreciation, we will focus on drawing as a foundational and expressive medium in visual art. Drawing spans centuries and cultures, serving as both a preparatory tool and a complete form of artistic expression. From quick sketches to highly detailed compositions, drawing allows artists to explore ideas, communicate emotion, and engage directly with material and mark-making.

We will examine how artists across history and disciplines have used drawing to record observations, express inner states, and challenge traditional boundaries. Our discussion will include:
• Leonardo da Vinci’s notebooks, which showcase anatomical studies, mechanical inventions, and exploratory sketches that reveal the mind of a Renaissance polymath and the power of drawing as a tool for investigation and understanding.
• Vincent van Gogh, whose energetic, expressive line work in both sketches and mixed-media drawings captures the emotional intensity and movement of his subjects.
• William Kentridge, a contemporary South African artist who combines charcoal drawing and stop-motion animation to explore memory, politics, and the instability of history.
• Shelby Shadwell, whose large-scale charcoal drawings push the boundaries of realism and abstraction, often depicting everyday materials with intense physicality and precision.
• Syd Mead, a concept designer known for his visionary drawings that combine industrial design and science fiction, showing how drawing can shape imagined futures and influence film and design industries.
• Käthe Kollwitz, whose powerful figurative drawings and prints use expressive line to convey grief, resilience, and social justice, especially in the context of war and class struggle.
• Egon Schiele, whose raw and expressive contour drawings explore the human figure with psychological intensity and formal distortion.

Throughout the week, we will explore how drawing operates not only as a preparatory method but also as a finished medium that communicates emotion, concept, and aesthetic vision. By studying a range of historical and contemporary examples, we will deepen our understanding of how artists use drawing to think, to feel, and to see. Through discussion and analysis, we’ll uncover the versatility of drawing and its enduring role in the story of art.