on the Path of Drawing Pictures
Kolkata, West Bengal
Let us begin the discussion with the beginning of our education. Whether it is the Bengali alphabet or the English alphabet, it is essentially a picture. By looking at the pictures of letters drawn in books, we practice drawing them in our own notebooks. At that point, no one calls it drawing pictures; it is called writing. The same letter appears in different forms in different students’ notebooks.
However, because the letters in the book share certain common characteristics, others can recognize them, i.e., read them. Later, we need to draw trees, animals, birds, parts of the body, and even things that are not visible to the naked eye. Even then, if we don't draw them exactly, it doesn’t cause any trouble. A tree in a textbook may have seven leaves, while the tree I draw may have five or ten. It is still considered a picture of a tree because the tree's characteristics do not depend on the number of leaves. What makes it a tree and what makes it a specific type of tree can be conveyed through the strokes of ink, and the picture will be correct. At this point, the purpose of drawing pictures can be stated as making it easier to convey one’s knowledge about an object to another. Since it is somewhat altered, we may call the picture a visual form of language. When you see the word “tree,” only those who know English will be able to imagine a tree. But when you see the picture of a tree, everyone can imagine it. Even if they know the tree by different names, it won’t cause any problem. In ancient times, people painted scenes of animals or hunting on cave walls. Now, we can easily understand them. If they had known how to write and had written it down, who knows if we would have been able to understand it! This is because those who could write had their writings become unreadable later, as they could not be read. There is no such problem with pictures, and that is why painting has such a high status.
Even after passing through the primitive age, there was no change in the subject matter of painting for a long time. That is, even then, people painted to make their daily lives permanent. At some point, people began painting their own portraits. Before the invention of the camera, the only way to make one’s portrait permanent was through a painting by an artist. Even though cameras became widespread, the value of painted portraits has not ended. So, for some artists, painting portraits became a livelihood. These artists could paint people like zamindars, farmers, etc.
But when the need arose to paint the images of great men like Buddha or Jesus Christ, the artists needed more than their usual skill. With that additional ability, some of them expressed their inner feelings in the painting. At this stage, the act of painting directly from observation was no longer necessary. However, the experience was still fully retained. So, simply being able to paint no longer made someone an artist. Just as writing about autumn or describing a fair does not make one a writer. As an example, we may think of Leonardo da Vinci’s painting The Last Supper or the mysterious smile of the Mona Lisa. In our country, paintings have been made of Radha-Krishna or Buddha.
In addition, scenes from the Jataka tales or the depiction of Siddhartha, exhausted from penance, offering payesh (a sweet dish) with great reverence, have also been painted with deep affection. The imaginative power seen in such paintings stems from a foundation in reality. For this, the artist has to observe many aspects of the real world carefully and draw them with precision. Some artists, alongside their observations, have also received scientific education. For example, Leonardo da Vinci studied avian anatomy to draw birds accurately. Many talented artists have given birth to new skills. Leonardo, when painting the Mona Lisa, kept in mind how the color of a scene changes due to the resistance of the wind. When Michelangelo painted scenes from the Bible on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel for four and a half years, he had to apply the paint against gravity. Correggio painted angels under the dome of the church in such a way that, when viewed from below, it appears as if they are flying. Italy’s Masaccio introduced perspective in his paintings. As a result, it became clear how far or near a figure or object is in a painting.
Dutch artist Frans Hals captured fleeting expressions of human life, such as someone’s loud laughter. It is not easy to draw such a brief expression like a hearty laugh with a model in front of you. Another kind of skill was displayed by the country’s other short-lived artist, Vermeer. Looking at the objects in his paintings, one could feel what it would be like to touch them or what material they were made from. This unique quality of his paintings is called ‘texture.’
Spain’s Pablo Picasso thought of paintings in an entirely different way. He broke down familiar faces and reassembled them with geometric designs, creating something entirely new.
Thus, the discovery and application of many different features of art is still ongoing. Yet, there are some artists who can perfectly replicate these features. However, not all of them are artists. This is because an artist must always remember that skill alone is not the final word. Just as one does not become a poet or a writer by simply being skilled at reading and writing, one does not become an artist by just having technical skill. Thought power is also necessary.
I spoke about drawing portraits of people, but the same principle applies to landscapes. Moreover, this idea applies not only to paintings but also to sculptures.
Apart from these forms of art, there are other kinds of artwork that have delighted the hearts of people in various forms throughout the ages. These include the embellishment and painting on various usable objects. Few of these have gained recognition as true art. Perhaps someone painted a picture of a flower. In the context of conventional art, their contribution may be small, but if someone, upon seeing that picture, feels inspired to make themselves as beautiful as a flower, then that picture is successful. Again, someone may have created a painting with such a combination of colors that it makes the viewer turn inward and start to analyze themselves; that painting is also timeless.
The kind of thinking that drives a person to become an artist, accompanied by the ability to draw, has changed over time. Sometimes it has been a form of institutional protest, sometimes the expression of suppressed desires, and sometimes devotion has dominated in diverse forms of artwork. From the choice of subject matter to the final brushstroke, the burst of the artist’s talent is ever-present.
Read more -...
To Accompany the music
Poor Whale
What is Literature?
Various Types Vision
