Study of the head of an old man
Drawing
ca.1610 (made)
ca.1610 (made)
Artist/Maker | |
Place of origin |
Although best known as a miniaturist and pupil of Nicholas Hilliard, Isaac Oliver was also a prolific draughtsman and was arguably the first artist in England to use drawing as an independent art form; he created a number of highly-finished autonomous drawings using a wide range of materials including pen and ink, chalk, wash, bodycolour and coloured papers. Most importantly of all, Oliver introduced a new concept to England: that drawing could be a dynamic, spontaneous activity, ideally suited to the jotting down of quick visual notes, rather than, as his master Hilliard had used it, a tool whose use was limited to the setting out of a composition’s basic contours. However, although his lively drawings have the air of having been made directly from the life, they are mostly based on existing visual sources. This drawing in particular appears to be based on head studies by Leonardo da Vinci, although the influence is probably indirect and filtered through contemporary printmakers.
Object details
Category | |
Object type | |
Title | Study of the head of an old man |
Materials and techniques | pen and brown ink |
Brief description | Drawing by Isaac Oliver (c.1565-1617); Head of an Old Man, pen and brown ink |
Physical description | Small drawing of the head of an old man with the profile of a second figure to the left in the background |
Dimensions |
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Credit line | R. H. Stephenson Bequest |
Object history | R. H. Stephenson bequest. From the collections of Earl Spencer and Lord Northwick. |
Summary | Although best known as a miniaturist and pupil of Nicholas Hilliard, Isaac Oliver was also a prolific draughtsman and was arguably the first artist in England to use drawing as an independent art form; he created a number of highly-finished autonomous drawings using a wide range of materials including pen and ink, chalk, wash, bodycolour and coloured papers. Most importantly of all, Oliver introduced a new concept to England: that drawing could be a dynamic, spontaneous activity, ideally suited to the jotting down of quick visual notes, rather than, as his master Hilliard had used it, a tool whose use was limited to the setting out of a composition’s basic contours. However, although his lively drawings have the air of having been made directly from the life, they are mostly based on existing visual sources. This drawing in particular appears to be based on head studies by Leonardo da Vinci, although the influence is probably indirect and filtered through contemporary printmakers. |
Bibliographic references |
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Collection | |
Accession number | E.540-1929 |
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Record created | July 1, 2009 |
Record URL |
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