Escape: From a Seventeenth-Century Drawing Manual of the Face and Its Expressions

David Schutter's abstract drawings recreate the values of Charles Le Brun's drawing manual on human emotions, creating unsettling states of mind that require repeated viewing. Accompanied by essays from art critic Barry Schwabsky and Neubauer Collegium curator Dieter Roelstraete, the book appeals to students, critics, and admirers of seventeenth-century, modern, and contemporary art.

\n Format: Hardback
\n Length: 128 pages
\n Publication date: 05 October 2021
\n Publisher: The University of Chicago Press
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Charles Le Brun's renowned drawing manual on human emotions has been cherished by artists and students for centuries, serving as a valuable reference for capturing facial expressions. In the artistic realm of David Schutter, Le Brun's manual takes on a distinctively abstract approach, evoking remnants of the human face and infusing them with emotional vitality. However, it is important to note that Schutter's drawings do not constitute mere copies or portraiture. Instead, they serve as contemplative reflections on the techniques employed by Le Brun in his renderings.

The collection presented here showcases Schutter's remarkable ability to recreate the essence of Le Brun's drawings. Through meticulous attention to light, gesture, scale, and material handling, Schutter's work replicates the values that defined Le Brun's artistic approach. For instance, the cross-hatching technique employed in the original drawings was used to create a classical tone and volume. In Schutter's hands, this technique yields unstable impressions, conveying strained necks and deeply furrowed brows, or even forming intricate drawing marks and scribbles that seem to merge into one another.

This unique approach to abstraction denies a neat closure, akin to the academic source material. Instead, Schutter's drawings evoke unsettling states of mind that demand repeated viewing. Accompanied by insightful essays by art critic Barry Schwabsky and Neubauer Collegium curator Dieter Roelstraete, The Escape offers a captivating exploration of seventeenth-century, modern, and contemporary art, appealing to a wide range of students, critics, and enthusiasts alike.

\n Weight: 876g\n
Dimension: 222 x 289 x 16 (mm)\n
ISBN-13: 9780226461199\n \n