The Drawing

The front of the drawing often includes things that were not there, without understanding the effect the light would have had if they had truly been present. Artists create black shadows and various touches with the intention of adding spirit and bringing elements forward, not realizing that nature would not have presented them that way, and these objects would naturally appear in place without such poor and repulsive artifice. Due to another error and intent to add effect without understanding the true causes in nature, artists often depict objects in drawings much softer than they've been seen in nature, mistakenly thinking that diminishing the objects' solidity makes them appear distant. Often, the indistinctness of their forms and the fading of their colors suffice to keep them where they belong. As a result, many accumulate numerous views drawn from nature that do not contribute at all to their education and lack any air of truth. Therefore, studies from nature should be drawn with scrupulous accuracy, not only for the forms that characterize the different types of trees but also for the effect of light, so as to understand its diminishment as it recedes; the different degrees of shadow strength and the various degrees of reflected light which prevent total darkness should also be depicted without adding force or touches where nature presents none—no matter the seemingly good reasons one might have for doing so. It is essential to complete one's studies on site to avoid all the mistakes that one might introduce when finishing them elsewhere. Studies are conducted to prepar...

Translation Notes

Affoiblissement: Used to describe the diminution or weakening, typically in the context of light and shading.

Dessiner d'après nature: Drawing from nature or life studies, emphasizing capturing subjects accurately as they appear.