Silverpoint

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Portrait Study of Dorothea Meyer, by Hans Holbein the Younger, 1516. Silverpoint, red chalk, and
traces of black pencil on white-coated paper, Kunstmuseum Basel.

A 1789 portrait of Mozart in silverpoint by Doris Stock

Silverpoint (one of several types of metalpoint) is a traditional drawing

technique first used by medieval scribes on manuscripts.

Contents
 1History
 2Revival
 3Characteristics
 4Literature
 5References
 6External links

History[edit]
A silverpoint drawing is made by dragging a silver rod or wire across a surface,
often prepared with gesso or primer. Silverpoint is one of several types of
metalpoint used by scribes, craftsmen and artists since ancient times.
Metalpoint styli were used for writing on soft surfaces (wax or bark), ruling and
underdrawing on parchment, and drawing on prepared paper and panel
supports. For drawing purposes, the essential metals used were lead, tin and
silver. The softness of these metals made them effective drawing instruments.
(Watrous, 1957) Goldsmiths also used metalpoint drawings to prepare their
detailed, meticulous designs. Albrecht Dürer's father was one such craftsman
who later taught his young son to draw in metalpoint, to such good effect that
his 1484 Self-Portrait at the Age of 13 is still considered a masterpiece.
In the late Gothic/early Renaissance era, silverpoint emerged as a fine line
drawing technique. Not blunting as easily as lead or tin, and rendering precise
detail, silverpoint was especially favored in Florentine and Flemish workshops.
Silverpoint drawings of this era include model books and preparatory sheets for
paintings. Artists who worked in silverpoint include Jan van Eyck, Leonardo da
Vinci, Albrecht Dürer and Raphael. Cennino Cennini's "Il Libro dell'Arte"
provides a window on the practice of silver and leadpoint drawing, as well as
preparing metalpoint grounds, in the late 14th century (Thompson, 1933; Duval,
et al., 2004). Susan Dorothea White's book Draw Like da Vinci (2006) describes
the silverpoint technique of Leonardo da Vinci. [1]
As noted by Francis Ames-Lewis, drawing styles changed at the end of the 16th
century, resulting in a decline for metalpoint. The discovery of graphite deposits
at Seathwaite in Borrowdale, Cumbria, England in the early 1500s, and its
increasing availability to artists in a pure, soft (and erasable) form hastened
silverpoint's eclipse. Artists sought more gestural qualities, for which graphite,
red and black chalk were better suited. Ink and wash drawings are also
prevalent in the period. In addition, these other drawing techniques required
less effort and were more forgiving than silver, which resists erasure and leaves
a fainter line. Furthermore, the preparation of silverpoint supports, usually with
hide glue with finely ground bone ash, was labor-intensive. Modern practitioners
use zinc, pre-prepared acrylic-based grounds or titanium white tempera or
marble dust as a ground. Natural chalks and charcoal have the advantage of
producing immediate results on uncoated papers (Ames-Lewis, 2000).
Dutch artists Hendrik Goltzius and Rembrandt maintained the silverpoint
tradition into the 17th century, as it declined in other parts of Europe.
Rembrandt made several silverpoints on prepared vellum, the best-known being
the portrait of his wife Saskia, 1633 (KdZ1152, Berlin). Botanical artists and
architects continued to use metalpoint because of its exact lines. However,
artists who continued this tradition of fine line drawing, such as J. A. D. Ingres,
turned to graphite, which gradually improved in quality and availability
throughout Europe since the 17th century. Silverpoint was for practical
purposes rendered obsolete by the 18th century (Reiche, 2005). There has
however been a contemporary art revival among European and American
artists and academies because the medium imposes considerable discipline in
draughtsmanship since drawings cannot be erased or altered.

Revival[edit]

Artist's Wife, Edith Holman Hunt by William Holman Hunt, a founding member of the Pre-Raphaelite
Brotherhood. Birmingham Museum of Art.

Joseph Meder (Das Buchlein vom Silberstift, 1909), Alphonse Legros, the Pre-

Raphaelites and Joseph Stella helped revitalize the technique. Art historian
Meder created interest in the traditional technique in Austria and Germany,
while artist and teacher Legros did likewise in England. In the early 20th
century, Stella was one of the few American artists working in this method on
the East Coast of the United States. Stella explored the technique on zinc white
gouache prepared grounds, often with crayon and other media. Stella's
silverpoint oevre includes the 1921 portrait of Marcel Duchamp (MoMA,
Katherine S. Dreier Bequest) (Haskell, 1994). On the West Coast Xavier
Martinez, the Mexican-American artist who had studied in Paris at the École
nationale supérieure des Beaux-Arts in the late 1890s during the resurgence of
interest in silverpoint, taught this technique at the California College of the
Arts from 1909 to the late 1930s.[2] The last known exhibition of Martinez’s
silverpoints was in 1921 at the Print Room of San Francisco where critics
praised his “unusual” and “strongly futuristic” action figures on an
unconventional dark mottled ground as “archaic in execution ... terse, alert ...
with a bit too much flesh.”[3] [4] [5]
An exhibit, "The Fine Line: Drawing with Silver in America" was curated for
the Norton Museum of Art, in 1985 by Bruce Weber.

Characteristics[edit]
A traditional silverpoint stylus is made with a small fine rod of silver, such
as jeweler's wire, which is inserted into a wooden rod. Another design is a
silver-tipped metal stylus with points on both ends. An example of this type is
shown in Rogier van der Weyden's St. Luke Drawing the Virgin, ca. 1435–40
(Boston Museum of Fine Arts). For a contemporary stylus, jeweler's wire may
be inserted into a pin vise or mechanical pencil (Watrous, 1957).
The initial marks of silverpoint appear grey as other metalpoints, but silverpoint
lines, when exposed to air, tarnish to a warm brown tone. The oxidation
becomes perceptible over a period of several months. The speed of oxidation
varies according to the level of pollution in the air. Historically, silverpoint styli
ranged widely in composition from pure silver to heavily alloyed with copper
(over 20% weight) (Duval, 2004; Reiche, 2004/2005; Watrous, 1957).
In the Middle Ages, metalpoint was used directly on parchment for the
underdrawing of illuminated manuscripts or model books. On uncoated
parchment (and paper), silverpoint is particularly light in value. However, since
the 14th century, silverpoint was used more successfully on prepared supports.
A traditional ground may be prepared with a rabbit skin glue solution pigmented
with bone ash, chalk and/or lead white. Contemporary grounds include acrylic
gesso, gouache and commercially prepared claycoat papers. The slight tooth of
the ground preparation takes a little of the silver as it is drawn across the
surface.
Silverpoint has encompassed a wide range of styles from Dürer's curvilinear
precision to Rembrandt's gestural sketches. Silverpoint has also proven
adaptable to modern styles. Thomas Wilmer Dewing's late 19th Century
silverpoint portraits are essentially tonal, as are Paula Gerard's mid-20th-
century abstract compositions. Gerard's "Vortex" (Fairweather Hardin Gallery) is
an innovative combination of silverpoint, goldpoint and watercolor on casein-
coated parchment (Weber, 1985).
Old Master silverpoints are typically intimate in scale, recalling the technique's
roots in manuscript illumination. However, modern artists have also utilized this
fine line technique for works on an increasingly large scale. John Wilde's "The
Great Autobiographical Silverpoint Drawing" (The Art Institute of Chicago
1986.8) which is 38 × 91", one of the largest modern silverpoints.
Silverpoint was also used in conjunction with other metal points by 20th-century
artists. Pedro Joseph de Lemos, the Director of the San Francisco Art
Institute from 1911 to 1917, popularized his “techniques” in California art
schools with his published instructions on the easy fabrication of various types
of metal points that would react with inexpensive coated paper. [6] In his The Last
of the Old Woodstock Inn, 1968 (The Art Institute of Chicago), Ivan Le Lorraine
Albright used silver with platinum, gold, copper and brasspoint on commercially
prepared video media paper. Contemporary artists continue to push the
boundaries of this ancient drawing technique. Contemporary American
silverpoint artist Carol Prusa combines graphite and binder on acrylic
hemispheres with metal leaf, video projection and fiber optics. [7] Susan
Schwalb has combined smoke and fire in silver and copperpoints in the 1980s
and currently creates drawings and paintings using numerous metals as well as
acrylic paint.[8] Jeannine Cook combines touches of colour with monochromatic
drawings, employing such media as Prismacolour, watercolour, Plike paper, silk
fabric and silk threads. Experimental metalpoint techniques including goldpoint
on silicon carbide paper are demonstrated in Draw Like da Vinci by Susan
Dorothea White[9], as in Gilding the Lily (2005).

Literature[edit]
 Ames-Lewis, Francis. Drawing in Early Renaissance Italy. Yale
University Press, 2000.
 Antoine, Beth. "Metalpoint Drawing: the History and Care of a Forgotten
Art". Final paper published
at http://bethantoine.com/research/Metalpoint_Final.pdf, November 2007.
 Berenson, Margaret Mathews “The Luminious Line: Contemporary
Drawings in Metalpoint ” Ruth Chandler Williams Art Gallery, Scripps
College, Claremont, CA essay for brochure. 2010
 Berenson, Margaret Mathews, “Reinventing Silverpoint: An Ancient
Technique for the 21st Century” essay, Kentler International Drawing Space,
Brooklyn, NY 2009
 Camhy, Sherry. FineArtConnoisseur July–August 2007 magazine.
"SILVERPOINT: Old Medium, New art"
 Broecke, Lara. Cennino Cennini's Il Libro dell'Arte: a new English
Translation and Commentary with Italian Transcription. London: Archetype,
2015.
 Duval, Alain et al. "Particle induced X-ray emission: a valuable tool for
the analysis of metalpoint," Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics
Research B 226 (2004), 60–74.
 Getsinger Nichols, Banjie. "Silver Linings: Introduction to Silverpoint
Drawing", 2012
 Haskell, Barbara. Joseph Stella. New York: Whitney Museum of
American Art, distributed by Harry N. Abrams, Inc., 1994.
 McCullough, Holly Koons. "The Luster of Silver". Exhibition catalogue.
Telfair Museum of Art, Savannah, GA. 2006
 Meder, Joseph. Das Buchleim von Silbersteft: Ein Trachtatlein fur
Moler. Vienna: Gerlach and Wielding, 1909.
 Reiche, Ina et al. "Spatially resolved synchrotron radiation induced X-ray
fluorescence analyses of rare Rembrandt silverpoint drawings," Applied
Physics A 83 (2006), 163–173.
 Reiche, Ina et al. "Spatially resolved sychroton-induced X-ray
fluorescence analyses of metal point drawings and their mysterious
inscription," Spectrochimica Acta Part B 59 (2004), 1657–1662.
 Streetman, John & O'Hern, John. "The Luster of Silver". Exhibition
catalogue. Evansville Museum of Arts, Science and History, Evansville, IN.
2009
 Watrous, James. The craft of Old Master drawings. Madison: The
University of Wisconsin Press, 1957.

References[edit]
1. ^ White, Susan D. (2006). Draw Like da Vinci. London: Cassell Illustrated, pp.22-
25, ISBN 9781844034444.
2. ^ Edwards, Robert W. (2012).  Jennie V. Cannon: The Untold History of the Carmel
and Berkeley Art Colonies, Vol. 1. Oakland, Calif.: East Bay Heritage Project. pp.  298, 493–
499, pl.14a.  ISBN  9781467545679. An online facsimile of the entire text of Vol. 1 is posted
on the Traditional Fine Arts Organization website ("Archived copy". Archived from  the
original  on 2016-04-29. Retrieved  2016-06-07.).
3. ^ San Francisco Chronicle, 13 February 1921, p. 8–S.
4. ^ Berkeley Daily Gazette, 19 February 1921, p. 5.
5. ^ The Oakland Tribune: 20 February 1921, p. W–5; 27 February 1921, p. S–7.
6. ^ Edwards, Robert W. (2015).  Pedro de Lemos, Lasting Impressions: Works on
Paper. Worcester, Mass.: Davis Publications Inc. pp.  62–63.  ISBN  9781615284054..
7. ^ https://www.cnn.com/style/article/carol-prusa-dark-light-exhibition-scn/index.html
8. ^ Weber, Bruce et al. The Fine Line. Drawing with Silver in America. Exhibition
catalogue. West Palm Beach, FL: Norton Gallery and School of Art, 1985.
9. ^ White, Susan D. Draw Like da Vinci. London: Cassell Illustrated, 2006, pp.94-
97 ISBN 9781844034444