Drawings speak

Abstract

The article is dedicated to drawing as a separate kind of pictorial art. Viewed are selected drawings by selected masters of drawing — by a great Dutch artist Rembrandt “The Old Man”, “A Glimpse of Gelderland”, “A Peasant’s Yard”, “Sick Saskia in Bed” and by Russian artists: F. A. Vasyliev’s “Serdjukova staraya karbasina” (“Serdjukov’s Old Boat”) and I. A. Ermenev’s “Beggars”. It is shown that what may be called a conventional representation of some details and objects in a drawing is able not just to enrich the composition, but to specify or even define the meaning of the whole piece. It is remarked that the art of drawing came to Russia in the XVIII century, at the age of Peter the Great’s reforms. Russian artists in most cases studied and evolved their skills independently, but surprisingly rapidly and fruitfully. Their art significantly enriched the art of drawing and widened its possibilities.

Keywords:

drawing as a kind of art, drawings by Rembrandt, drawings by F. A. Vasyliev, drawings by I. A. Ermenev