WONG Chau Yin(Filia) ChuckClose's FingerprintII1978

1) INTRODUCE THE DRAWING IN GENERAL TERMS

•What is the title of the drawing?

FingerprintII


•What is the name of the artist?


Chuck Close


•What is the year the drawing was done?


In 1978


•What is the medium? (ie the materials used to produce the picture, for example charcoal on paper, pen and ink etc)


There are lots of fingerprint on the paper.


•What is the subject matter or general theme of the work? (eg is it a figure drawing, a map, a portrait, an autobiographical work, a picture about nature, a drawing of the city etc?)


It is a man.


•What is the purpose of the drawing? (eg Is it a diagram that explains how something works? Does it record accurately record the appearance of something? Does it express the artist's emotion or memory? )


It is trying to show the face of a man by using different levels of tones of the fingerprints.




2) DESCRIBE THE DRAWING IN DETAIL


•How is line used? What does it do/express?


There is no line used.


•How is tone used? What does it do/express?


There are lots of different levels of tone used, from slight white to gray and very dark black, and most of them are gray actually.
By using different levels of tones it makes the contour of a man more extrusive and stands out, makes us easier to figure out which part are his hair, forehead, eyebrow, eyes, nose, ears, mouth, chin, neck and collarbone.


•What can you say about shape and/or form in this picture? What is the effect?


The form of the picture is quite systematical and mechanical.  From it we can see there are lots of fingerprints in the same size put in orderly, and no any overlap.  And the artist is using the tones very carefully and trying to connect different levels of tone of the fingerprint together, makes it harmony, trying to make the man being more solid like having three-dimension effects.


•Is texture a feature of the drawing?


YES, even it just simply made by a paper with lots of fingerprints, the texture of the picture is quite soft, smooth and natural.  Fingerprints makes everything not really in detail but quite rough and it is between reality and abstraction.


•What can you say about the composition of the drawing? What is the effect of this type of composition on the overall drawing?


The drawing composed a lot of different levels of tone of fingerprints.
It looks like an old photo token a long time before which just with white, gray and black.  Also, as it is quite mechanical like a photo printed with lots of dots.  And the artist is using his fingerprint instead of using any tools.  Not as exquisitely as the photo but roughly give the outline of a man.  It is quite abstract but impressive.  And we can see the artist was putting lots of effort to create the tones and space, making everything so natural.


•Is rhythm important in this picture? If so, say more about it...


YES, there is rhythm in the picture.  As there are lots of fingerprints put in one by one orderly, from slight gray to dark gray by observing different levels of light and space.  And the fingerprints create rhythm which makes the mood more harmonious and the overall being so coherent, smooth and natural.


•Is the picture balanced? Explain...


No, it is because the face of the man is a litter bit turn to right, seems that the posture is not balance.  Also the light seems coming from left hand side, in which we find some shadow of his nose, face, chin and neck in right hand side but none in left hand side.  And the shape of the hair is not balance, right hand side is higher than the left.


•Is perspective used in the picture? If so, describe the way that the illusion of three-dimensional space has been created.


YES, it uses the perspective.  The artist is keen in using different levels of tones of fingerprint which create three-dimensional space.  In the picture, we can that the slight gray is most spacious and the lightest part, and in contrast, the dark gray is the darkest, intimate and concentrated part of the man.  When they come together, it creates some space and pop out the outline of the face of the man clearly.  By using the tones, we can easily find out where the light comes from, which part of the man is and how far between different parts of his face is, etc.  And makes the man seems a real one and it is solid.


•Is the picture harmonious? If so, in what way?


YES, it is harmonious.  As there a lot of different levels of tones of fingerprints put in orderly in a consistent way.  Even the tones is different, it is trying to charge the level of tone very slightly and carefully in order to match with the overall image.  Finally, everything comes so natural and smooth and harmonious.


•Are there any strong contrasts in the picture? Say more...


YES, there are some strong contrasts in the picture.  Especially when it comes to the darkest, intimate and concentrated parts of the man, such as his hair, eyeball, nostril, the shadow of nose and chin and his clothes.  Also, comparing with the left hand side which is more brighten and slight gray than the right hand side.  We can clearly to observe every part of the left face but it is quite dark and mistiness in the left face which with lots of dark shadow.




3) INTERPRETATION AND EVALUATION


•What is the mood of the drawing? Justify your answer using information from your responses above


The picture seems with nothing special mood and quite rough by only using the dots (fingerprints) to outline a face of a man, but actually, the mood of the drawing would be quite earnest, cautious, calm, stable and intricate…  As the whole structure is really complicated, it involves different levels of tones of the fingerprint.  And the artist has to pay attention to do every step to figure out which part should put which level of tone in an appropriate way.  Undeniably, it needs quite a long time to finish it patiently.


•What does the drawing express? Justify your answer using information from your responses above

It is a sophisticated microscope by using the pointillism.  The artist is using different levels of tones of his fingerprint to shape the contour of a man’s face.  It seems quite rough, between reality and abstraction.  But, it tells us that dots can also make things done, which can make the item quite extrusive by using different level of tones.  When we use the tone appropriately it would finally create the three-dimension and space effect.  Also, our fingerprint can make a special texture and feeling to the art work with this small dots shape and even the veins.  It makes everything being more natural, smooth and unique.

•In your opinion, why is this work interesting/moving/ clever/ imaginative/thought-provoking/......?  Choose the adjective(s) that best fit(s) the work, and then justify your conclusion in terms of specific features and qualities of the drawing.

I quite impressed by this art work and I would like to descript it is a sophisticated one.

Obviously, it would be easier for one to draw a man by using a pen or other tools but not the fingerprint.  The artist is really a smart and well organized person.  As it is difficult by using different level of tones of the fingerprints to express and outline a face of a person.  It involves some technical skills, experience and well organized plan before drawing.  From the picture, we can see the artist is really keen in using tones which created three-dimension and space of the man.  Eventually, it makes a harmonious, smooth and natural feeling to others.

TSE Wing Lim talks on Carbon Colour Of Julia Robinson 1976 Larry Rivers

1) INTRODUCE THE DRAWING IN GENERAL TERMS 


•What is the title of the drawing? .
•What is the name of the artist? 
•What is the year the drawing was done? 
The title of the drawing is Carbon Colour Of Julia Robinson.The drwaing finished by Larry Rivers at 1976. He was one of America's most important postwar artists. 


•What is the medium? 


The medium is  charcoal on paper.


•What is the subject matter or general theme of the work?
 It is a figure drawing and one carbon drawing.


•What is the purpose of the drawing? 
There are one original drawing and one carbon drawing which record Julia Robinson's appearance. Two drawings are not same with the other one, they make a contrast, the left one is like Larry Rivers stand behind the windows and then draw it, right one is more substantial, seems like a face-to-face drawing. 


2) DESCRIBE THE DRAWING IN DETAIL


•How is line used? What does it do/express? 


Different types of line had used in the drawing such as the straight line, rough line, curve line etc.  We can see the line contrast in the drawing. The left side's line is lighter than the right side's line. For example, the head of the woman, the line of right side is more detailed and heavy. Also, the strong and dark lines draw the outline of the figure and the background, some rough lines draw the dark shadow.


•How is tone used? What does it do/express? 


The drawing has three main tone, the darkest part(most black), the middle tone (the gray area) and the lightest part(white part). The darkest part in the drawing is the clothes shadow of the woman, including her boots. The gray area is her clothes. The part of lightest tone is at the left side of the drawing mostly. 


•What can you say about shape and/or form in this picture? What is the effect? 


I think everything in the drawing are doubled, the shape mainly focus on the female figure, right hand-side is real figure and left hand side like a shadow in a mirror, their shapes are similiar.


•Is texture a feature of the drawing? 


Texture is a one the feature of the drawing. The texture of  the clothes is smooth , light and soft. Also, the texture of woman's hair are soft and light too, it seems that her hair is waving. The curve lines make the texture become soft, the hair and clothes contains many curve lines. Oppositely, the background (the door and other objects) are very tough, because it contains many straight lines.


•What can you say about the composition of the drawing? What is the effect of this type of composition on the overall drawing?


The composition of the drawing is divided into two parts, left and right. Actually, the drawing like two same pictures combined into one drawing, so their compositions are same. The woman stand at the middle of two pictures, the background of two pictures are same too.


•Is rhythm important in this picture? If so, say more about it...


The rhythm is not very important in this picture, because the action of the figure is keep still.


•Is the picture balanced? Explain...


This picture is balanced. Because the picture is like a mirror and the real object. Right side like a real object, left side like a unsubstantial reflection. 


•Is perspective used in the picture? If so, describe the way that the illusion of three-dimensional space has been created.


This picture is used linear perspective, it created another space behind the door (the door is behind woman), we can see the outdoor view through the window on the door.


•Is the picture harmonious? If so, in what way? 

This picture is quite harmonious, there are two reasons: the first one is because the posture of the woman is quiet, she is holding her posture in the drawing. Another reason is the place, it is a indoor location. Indoor make people feel safety,stable.


•Are there any strong contrasts in the picture? 


Yes,  although the two figures are similar, but  the composition, tone and the line in the picture make the strong contrasts actually. The left side is lighter and simple, seems like an illusion. In contrast the right side is more detailed and darker, it is substantial.
Also, there are contrast about light, 3 slope white light are on the right side picture. 




3) INTERPRETATION AND EVALUATION


•What is the mood of the drawing? 
The first impression that the drawing give me is a doubt.
I am doubted that why there are two similar pictures in one drawing? Why the artist do this? After I have an analysis on it, I discover that there are some different between two pictures, one is substantial, another one is like a duplicate copy or a mirror reflection. There are contrasts between those two pictures.


•What does the drawing express? 
 They record Julia Robinson's appearance. The drawing express contrast relationship between two pictures.




•In your opinion, why is this work interesting/moving/ clever/ imaginative/thought-provoking/......?   
I think contrastive is the best adjective to describe the work. Because the work contains two pictures, although they are similar, but it is easy to see the contrast. 

SUN Po Yan talks on

NG Tsz Lok talks on

NELSON Molly talks on Eva Hesse

1) INTRODUCE THE DRAWING IN GENERAL TERMS

•What is the title of the drawing?

Untitled

•What is the name of the artist?

Eva Hesse

•What is the year the drawing was done?

1961

•What is the medium? (ie the materials used to produce the picture, for example charcoal on paper, pen and ink etc) 
This piece appears to be created with charcoal and ink or watercolor?

•What is the subject matter or general theme of the work? (eg is it a figure drawing, a map, a portrait, an autobiographical work, a picture about nature, a drawing of the city etc?)

This drawing is fairly abstract, it looks as though it might be an abstract human head though it also looks like it could be a flower or just a non-representative collection of shapes and lines.

•What is the purpose of the drawing? (eg Is it a diagram that explains how something works? Does it record accurately record the appearance of something? Does it express the artist's emotion or memory? ) 
There is no documentation to indicate that this drawing is meant to represent a specific memory or emotion but it seems quite possible that it relates to Hesse's disturbing personal history and the emotions that go along with that. In an interview with Cindy Nemser, Hesse began her response to the opening question of "Tell me about your family background" by saying "You won't believe it. I was told by the doctor that I have the most incredible life he ever heard. Have you got tissues? It's not a little thing to have a brain tumor at thirty-three. Well, my whole life has been like that." And it's true, as I continued to read about the past of Eva Hesse, it was filled with tales related to escaping the Nazi party and gradually losing everyone she had ever been close to. Later in this same interview she states "There's not been one normal thing in my life--not one--not even my art."

This drawing is clearly deeply emotional and expressive, and the thick, dark, heavy lines make it clear that the emotions being expressed are not light ones. The composition too is unsettling as it is quite unbalanced and escaping the frame, a frame drawn in by Hesse that also appears unstable and perhaps unsettling.

2) DESCRIBE THE DRAWING IN DETAIL

•How is line used? What does it do/express?

The lines used by Hesse in this picture are both quite heavy and loose. This highly expressive use of line makes the piece very emotional and gives the viewer the sense that the artist released some sort of dark, intense feelings through the creation of this piece.

•How is tone used? What does it do/express?

Generally, the feeling of this piece is quite dark, though in reality there is a range in tone within this composition. The slightly darkened tone of the drawing's background makes a significant impact on the overall feel of this work as it lessens the contrast and creates a much more moody and evocative picture. Interestingly, traditional uses of shading are not a part of this drawing though Hesse does use the same sort of principal by gradually lightening and smudging the marks made around the main figure.

•What can you say about shape and/or form in this picture? What is the effect?

There is not really a sense of 3-Dimensional form in this picture. The shapes used are quite organic and loose. Hesse even eliminates the one geometric form that seemed stuck to her image: the rectangular frame created by the pages edges by loosely drawing a second frame just within the edges. This use of texture creates a sort of transition between the dark ink and the pale background but also in it's rough nature sets up a sense of divide between these two elements.

•Is texture a feature of the drawing?

The way Hesse draws loosely and broadly with ink seems to emphasize the natural texture of her materials. Around the edges of her circle is a ring of chaotic scribbles that provides the only real drawn in texture of this piece this scribbly area seems to both lessen the contrast between the dark ink used in the drawing and the pale background, but also its rough nature makes it a sort of barrier between these two sections.

•What can you say about the composition of the drawing? What is the effect of this type of composition on the overall drawing?

This drawing definitely has an unstable composition. The drawing is not centered in the frame, and is even part way outside of the frame. This frame itself is also significant as Hesse has drawn in a second frame, eliminating the harsh edges and angles of the rectangular paper, doing away with what had been the only even, clean, straight, and geometric feature of this drawing. This treatment makes the drawing even more unsettling to the viewer.

•Is rhythm important in this picture? If so, say more about it...

I would not say that rhythm is important to this painting, though perhaps the lack of rhythm in terms of traditional lines might be significant. The place where I might see a sort of rhythm is the series of concentric shapes with a new frame drawn inside the natural frame of the paper's edge, followed by a circle within a circle. This use of concentric shapes could be a strategy to pull the viewer more deeply into the piece.

•Is the picture balanced? Explain...

I would say that this picture is very much unbalanced, there is no line of symmetry and even things that would normally be balanced like the loosely rectangular frame and the circles (both geometric shapes typically considered to be symmetrical) are drawn so roughly that they do not convey a feeling of balance at all.

•Is perspective used in the picture? If so, describe the way that the illusion of three-dimensional space has been created.

No, perspective is not really an aspect of this drawing.

•Is the picture harmonious? If so, in what way?

No, I would say this picture is anything but harmonious actually.

•Are there any strong contrasts in the picture? Say more...

The heavy, dark ink contrasts the pale background, though there appears to be a thin wash of ink over the background so that this contrast is not too strong. Also the thin scribled lines contrast the thick solid ink lines.

3) INTERPRETATION AND EVALUATION

•What is the mood of the drawing? Justify your answer using information from your responses above

The mood of this drawing is definitely dark and very expressive. It does not necessarily appear to be depressing or full of sorrow but more something a bit twisted and haunting. The picture appears to signal distress without being a cry for help. The artist achieves this simultaneous sense of both strength and disturbed emotion with the assertive use of powerful, bold black lines. The lack of stability in the composition and the chaotic scribbles are what cause this emotional uneasiness. There is also a sense that the circular figure is sort of anchored down, it has a sort of heavy feeling even though it is located at the top corner of the frame, as if something is keeping it from flying away completely. This could be due to the fact that the circle nearly comes to a point at the bottom, looking as if it has been stretched or pulled downward and also the long, dark drip of ink extending all the way to the bottom of the frame. This bottom edge also is significantly darker and thicker than the other three sides, adding to this sense of downward gravity. This visually heavy, downward aspect could be linked to an emotionally heavy and downward sense of the drawing.

•In your opinion, why is this work interesting/moving/ clever/ imaginative/thought-provoking/......?  Choose the adjective(s) that best fit(s) the work, and then justify your conclusion in terms of specific features and qualities of the drawing.

In my opinion, this work is both interesting and moving, as well as probably many other things. What I find interesting about it is the fact that it is simultaneously so simple, yet seemingly complex. At a glance, it is difficult to find words to talk about this drawing, which immediately feels funny because it is constructed from a collections of loose and simple lines that only together make an emotionally complex composition. The work is moving through the fact that it is also strong and assertive. The artist makes her presence known through expressive, bold lines that have an absence of any sort of timidity making it clear that her emotions overpower any apprehensions that an artist may otherwise feel when approaching a blank canvas, or in this case paper.

MAK Shuk Ping (Millie) talks on "Noble Paul's Palace" (1996)

1) INTRODUCE THE DRAWING IN GENERAL TERMS
What is the title of the drawing?
The title of the drawing is "Noble Paul's Palace".

•What is the name of the artist?
The name of the artist is Paul Noble.


•What is the year the drawing was done?
The drawing was done at 1996.

•What is the medium? (ie the materials used to produce the picture, for example charcoal on paper, pen and ink etc)
The artist only use pencil to produce the picture.


•What is the subject matter or general theme of the work? (eg is it a figure drawing, a map, a portrait, an autobiographical work, a picture about nature, a drawing of the city etc?)
In the middle of the picture, there is a palace. Around the palace, there is a beach and some moutains.
The general theme of the work is that, the artist wants to show his dream palace.
As the constrution of the palace is quite unrealistic. It won't exist in reality. So, I believe the palace is artist's illusion.


•What is the purpose of the drawing? (eg Is it a diagram that explains how something works? Does it record accurately record the appearance of something? Does it express the artist's emotion or memory? )
The purpose of this drawing is to show Paul's dream palace. As I mentioned before, the construction of the palace is unrealistic which can't be found in the real life. It is unable for people to live in. Why Paul drew the palace out is because this is what Paul wants to have or live eagerly.  Since there is no a real object refer to, it is difficult to say whether the picture have recorded the appearence accurately.

Nonetheless, when we look at the picture, we can feel the carefulness of Paul. The palace was quite attentive. For example we can see railings, stairs and some doors are drew in detail. And there are a desk and a box inside the room which is in the middle of the palace.
I think it express artisit's emotion. Maybe this is a dream place where Paul want to have. And when I look at the picture, it gives me a sense of harmonious. Paul may want to express peacefulness through the picture.

2) DESCRIBE THE DRAWING IN DETAIL

•How is line used? What does it do/express?
Paul had fully utilised different forms of lines through out the whole picture.
When we first look at the picture, it seems that the palace was made by different size of rectangles and some curve lines. But actually, according to some informtation,
"each blocky construction is crafted out of a grouping of letters that identifies its owner or function." This means that every coners of the palace are designed with consideration which have its patterns and meanings.

Lines also play an important role to show linear perspective in this work.
This help the palace to look more 3-dimensional. The outlook of the palace
like a triangle which increase the stillness and concrete of the palace.



•How is tone used? What does it do/express?
There are three main tones through out the picture. The darkest part is the two mountains aside. And then the sky and the sea are lighter. The palace use the lightest color tone. I think the use of the color tone in this picture helps readers to concentrate on the palace (which is the lightest one).
The color of the mountains is darker then the sky and sea, they are in grey tone. Compared to the palace, obviously, Paul use white grey as the main color tone. This makes the palace stand out obviously.

I think Paul choose lighter color tone to create the main part of the work
has another reason. As the atmosphere of this work is quite peaceful and grand. Light color is preferable than dark color. Although dark color tone can also gives us a sense of peacefulness. Some negative feelings like loneliness
are always included in dark color tone drawing. Light color is different from dark color. It gives us a sense of tranquil. At the same time, positive feelings like comfortable, dream place.etc would appear.

I would regard this work as the happy or positive drawing. So, using light color for the palace is much more suitable.


•What can you say about shape and/or form in this picture? What is the effect?
The shape of the palace is like a triangle. Triangle gives us a sense of firm and solid. Paul use triangle form to create the constrution of the palace can let viewers feel the stillness of the palace. Although the design of the palace
unrealistic, we still think that living there would be safe.
Paul usess his dream design for the outlook of the palace, at the same time,
maintain the stillness of the palace.

Also, most castle we have seen from stories or movies are usually constructed in triangle form. Paul uses triangle form to "construct" the palace guiding viewers to think of some historical and grand castles. The grand face of the palace can be created.

•Is texture a feature of the drawing?
I think texture is one of the features of the drawing.
When we look at the picture, we can see that the texture of the palace is quite different from others subject.
The palace seems smoother than the mountains, the sky and the sea.
Especailly those curvy surface of the palace, it looks so smooth.
And the smooth gives me a sense of peacfulness. Maybe that is what Paul wants to express through the texture.


•What can you say about the composition of the drawing? What is the effect of this type of composition on the overall drawing?
The picture can be separated into three main parts. They are : the mountains, the sky and sea, and the palace. According to the composition, the mountains was created aside, the sky and sea were the background, the palace was placed in the middle of the picture. The size of the three parts was obviously different. The palace occupied 1/3 of the picture.
With the above informtion, we can find that Paul wants to protrude the palace by composition.


•Is rhythm important in this picture? If so, say more about it...
Yes, it think the rhythm is crucial in the picture. Like the on the sea, we can see the artist used some
curvy lines to show the movement of the water. These lines makes me feel some rhythm from the sea, very natural.
Also, we can find that the palace is in a repeated irregular pattern.
When we first look at the picture, we may think that the palace is quite balanced, like some Lego.
Maybe because of the rhythm of pattern is repeated irrugularly.


•Is perspective used in the picture? If so, describe the way that the illusion of three-dimensional space has been created.
Yes, we can find linear perspective in the picture. It helps viewers to focus on the palace. Also, the exists of linear perspective can make the palace looks more three-dimensional. The top of the palace is the narrow point of the linear perspective. The whole palace is providing a vertical triangle form which help to raise the stillness of the palace.




•Is the picture harmonious? If so, in what way?
I think the picture is quite harmonious. First, the background is like a desert island. The sea looks quite calm without too much waves. The environment of the picture is tranquil.
The main part of the picture is the palace. The palace use crispy straight line and curvy surface to construct.
The smooth texture of the palace gives us a sense of peacfulness and harmonious.


•Are there any strong contrasts in the picture? Say more...
Maybe the biggest contrast in the picture is the mountains and the palace.
The palace have very smooth texture. The structure of the palace are made of clear lines and  curve.
The lines are crispy and clear. For the mountains, it have uneven surface. The lines are relatively complicated compared with the palace.



3) INTERPRETATION AND EVALUATION

The mood of the drawing is quite peacful and serene. The palace was situated at a tranquil island. The sea is calm.Paul uses lightest color tone to present the palace. The white grey color gives me a positive feeling. It looks different compared to the sea, the sky and the mountains. The texture of the palace is smooth and the lines are clear and crispy. A sense of tidiness was created.
Besides, as the texture of the palace and the mountains aside are different.
The palace gives me a feeling of stillness. The artist used straight lines to represent the form of the palace. The palace looks much tidier.

If I need to choose an adjective to describe the work, I would say "peaceful".
In describing this work, I use "tranquil", "stillness", "serene" many times.
Because the total feeling of the work is really peaceful to me.
I know it might be a dream design for Paul. I think that Paul might also
want every viewers has the same feeling as him after seeing his drawing.
The common characteristic of dream place is feeling comfortable and having peaceful environment around. "Noble Paul's Palace" can do this.

What Paul may want to say from this work is to show his dream palace
to everyone. It may like an utopia in some aspects. Utopia is so abstract that different people may have various feelings toward it. However, if we saw
something peaceful and comfortable, it might make us think of it (our utopia).
So, why Paul drew this peaceful work maybe because he wants everyone could find their utopia through his "palace". 

I like this picture. Although the palace is not in a realistic style.
It gives me a sense of peacefulness. Also, palace has a symbolism
of fairy tales to me. Paul situated his palace onto a tranquil island.
Providing a comfortable background of the picture.
He only use pencil as the tool to draw the picture.
The shadow of the palace looks very smooth and natural while
the rock mountains looks substantive.

MA Sze Man (Joyce) talks on Rembrandt's A Studio With a Seated Female

 

1)    INTRODUCE THE DRAWING IN GENERAL TERMS 

•What is the title of the drawing? What is the name of the artist? What is the year the drawing was done?
This is a drawing of Rembrandt Van Rijn, he was a famous painter in Baroque period. This drawing is called A Studio With a Seated Model, this was executed around 1654-1660.
 

•What is the medium? (ie the materials used to produce the picture, for example charcoal on paper, pen and ink etc)
The medium are pen and brush and brown ink and wash.
 

•What is the subject matter or general theme of the work? (eg is it a figure drawing, a map, a portrait, an autobiographical work, a picture about nature, a drawing of the city etc?)
This drawing is a figure drawing sketch (life-sketching), its subject matter is mainly about a human body, it expressed an organic pose and form of human body, so a female model sat in the studio. 

•What is the purpose of the drawing? (eg Is it a diagram that explains how something works? Does it record accurately record the appearance of something? Does it express the artist's emotion or memory? )
Rembrandt treated this sketch as a means of practicing the drawing skills and recording his visual observation, and tried to understand the characteristics of the back of human. And he tried to use only few lines to express the shapes of body, eg, the model’s arms, back and thigh.
Besides, he tried to use and mix with different medium to compose different texture and contrasts, eg. brush and wash are used to draw the light contrast of the wall, pen and ink to draw the outline of the female.

2) DESCRIBE THE DRAWING IN DETAIL

•How is line used? What does it do/express?
Rembrandt used few sharp and discontinuous strokes to outline the woman’s body shape, her face, hair, and the wrinkles of cushion.

•How is tone used? What does it do/express?
The gradation of tone of the top right side was filled up with the brush stroke from darker to lighter (from the top right to bottom), so we could see very clear of the contrast of the light, and where the light source was. In the bottom of this drawing, the dark tone expressed the shadow of the woman and the chair. The tone of the cushion was shaped by lines on the top and darker bush stroke at the bottom, so the top of the cushion was brighter and lighter than the bottom. We could see that Rembrandt tried to use the contour lines and wrinkles to reveal the form and structure, which make us feel the softness of the cushion.
And tone was used to depict the back bone(the line of her back) of the woman, because we could see there was a shade (a brush wash) in the middle vertically of her back and hip, and this tone also showed her sitting pose. She is in a diagonal post.

 
•What can you say about shape and/or form in this picture? What is the effect?
The broken lines which outline from the woman’s waist and upper right arm show us the boundary of the body and the walls. If there is no line, we will easily mix up the walls and the body, because they are filled with no color, so Rembrandt only used few lines to separate the difference nicely. He used the dark and light color, lines and pressured stoke carefully to express the three dimension of each object, eg, the cushion, the lower back of woman, the edge of the walls on the top left side. Besides, the pen stroke of shaping her body which make us could feel thhat her body is fleshy.

•Is texture a feature of the drawing?
Yes. For the chair legs, the graduation of tone creates a wooden texture. The strong pressure of the small lines in the middle of the cushion creates a texture of crumples, and we can feel it is quite smooth and soft. The little wavy brush stroke on the woman’s head creates a feeling of wavy hair. 

•What can you say about the composition of the drawing? What is the effect of this type of composition on the overall drawing?
The woman sat stably in the middle of this drawing. And the pose of her left arm and right leg were supporting her whold body, we could feel the force from her pose.

•Is rhythm important in this picture? If so, say more about it...
No, there is no rhythm used in this drawing, it is mainly a body sketch.

•Is the picture balanced? Explain...
This drawing is very balance, especially the woman was sat in the middle, and the contrast of light in this drawing is good, eg, the bottom part from the chair to the floor were darker (almost the center of the bottom) which makes us feel the weight (gravity) of the woman and the chair, so it looks very stable.

•Is perspective used in the picture? If so, describe the way that the illusion of three-dimensional space has been created.
There is no perspective, but Rembrandt did use the little light contrast on the lower back of the woman and the chair’s legs to provide a feel of three dimensions.

•Is the picture harmonious? If so, in what way?
This picture is harmonious, especially the light contrast of the walls and shadows from the woman which reflected on the left wall. And the pose of the figure was natural and organic, everything is natural, and they were organized very well. 

•Are there any strong contrasts in the picture? Say more...
In this drawing, the study of light is good. The light contrast in this drawing is more obvious, eg. the light reflected on the wall, then we can see clearly of the edge of 2 walls (on the left ). A dark contrast (the brush stroke) acts as the shadow of the chair that reflects on wall, and the oblique stroke which penetrates from the middle of the big brush stroke constructs a very big contrast, the lighter one is the shadow of the chair, the darker one reflects the woman’s body. Also the 2 slight straight brush strokes in the middle of the left, both of them makes a big contrast of the walls, so that we can see they should be shadows on both walls and they are shadow of the woman.
 
3) INTERPRETATION AND EVALUATION

•What is the mood of the drawing? Justify your answer using information from your responses above
The mood is relaxing, the woman leans on the chair peacefully. Her pose makes her feel stable and calm. The light contrasts of the right top and the bottom make the drawing feel more stable. When we look at a drawing of black color, we feel its weight, but if we look at white color, we feel it is light, and most of the dark color comes from the bottom of this drawing and it could be the center of gravity from our visual observation. It is a very steady and firm.

•What does the drawing express? Justify your answer using information from your responses above
This drawing seems like a practice of drawing, Rembrandt wanted to understand more details about the human body, he wanted to get much closer to the organic form of body. As I proofed that Rembrandt didn’t pay much attention to the background of this sketch, he mainly focused on the body shape and the chair with a cushion. Also, I can see that different medium is used, eg, pen, brush and ink and washes. And the face of the woman is blurred, if Rembrandt wants to draw this as a memorial, there is no reason to blur her face. Every part of this drawing is so precise except the face and the walls.
The way he looked at this model did not contain the male gaze, Rembrandt only grasped at every important part of the body shape. And we can feel the relationship of the woman and Rembrandt are close. 

•In your opinion, why is this work interesting/moving/ clever/ imaginative/thought-provoking/......?  Choose the adjective(s) that best fit(s) the work, and then justify your conclusion in terms of specific features and qualities of the drawing.
This drawing gives me quite a lot of references of how to draw a sketch. Before I never thought that we could use different medium to draw in one brief sketch. So, in my opinion, this sketch is thought-provoking, interesting and clever. I used to pay attention Rembrandt’s painting nd i found that his painting is amazing, especially the skill of chiaroscuro. After I focused on his sketch, I thought he is a very great artist, because he only use few pen strokes to express the body shape of the woman and the strokes are  very precise. If there is no pen strokes, we won’t see the well-rounded and fleshly body of this woman. Every stroke in this drawing is important.