With the use of pictographs dating back as early as Prehistoric times, drawing is undoubtedly one of the oldest forms of human expression. While drawing has existed through all ages (especially in Asia, where it was a preeminent artistic medium), its forms and uses truly started to diversify in the 19th century. Following the industrial revolution of the 1800s, technical drawing began to take off and to differentiate itself from artistic drawings. As a result, it became highly codified and aimed to communicate precise information about how something should be manufactured or used. Similarly, architecture and design drawings, as well as fashion illustration became more developed.
There are a number of drawing techniques available to artists who can choose to alternate between charcoal drawing, pencil drawing, dry pastels, chalk, coloured pencils, or ink. This selection focuses on the latter, the ancestral drawing technique of ink on paper. Exclusively used for writing for a long time, ink gradually established itself within the visual arts. Diluted, mixed, or pure, ink offers an infinite range of nuances. Artists can use various types of ink but the mark of a good quality ink its ability to flow and and instantly attach to paper.
The most famous type of ink is Indian ink. Invented 5,000 years ago, this quality black ink brings a shiny effect to the drawing. Ink was first used in Asia but became popular in Europe in the Middle Ages, where it was first used to decorate the manuscripts. Its use became more widespread with the dissemination of printing techniques in the Renaissance. Dürer, Cranach and Titian were some of the first artists to use ink for strictly artistic purposes, and the great masters of the 19th and 20th centuries continued to develop the technique further.
Iron gall ink, quite popular because it could be manufactured in mass quantities, it was resistant and was the most compatible ink for writing with quills. Coloured inks, although more vulnerable to light, were popular within the decorative arts and illustration. They are composed of specific pigments, similar to those of watercolour.
One of the world's most famous ink artworks is perhaps The Great Wave off Kanagawa by the great Japanese master Hokusai: first of the series “The Thirty-Six views of the Mount Fuji." Often imitated by other artists, the Wave (as it is often referred to) is an woodblock print influenced by both Western and Eastern artistic practices. Other famous ink artworks include many of Leonardo da Vinci's drawings.
Many museums exhibit numerous ink drawings. For example, the Centre Pompidou owns Henri Michaux's “Dessin Mescalien," and Jean-Olivier Hucleux's “Dessin de Déprogrammation."
So, whether you are a lover of Hokusai's poetic prints, or merely curious about this lesser known art, you'll be able to find a rare gem in Artsper's selection of contemporary ink drawings.
Collector’s Guide: Collecting Drawings
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Bzzzz, said Zig Zag, in the presence of Solid Foam, 2014
27.6 x 19.7 inch
Fine Art Drawings
$5,018
Small Blue Sign No 10 | Abstrait Minimaliste, 2020
9.4 x 6.7 x 0 inch
Fine Art Drawings
$107
Les architectes de la parole III, 2011
47.2 x 15.7 x 0.4 inch
Fine Art Drawings
$6,022
Saynète 32 - Se Souvenir du temps qui passe, 2016
16.1 x 24 x 0.2 inch
Fine Art Drawings
$753
Profil d'homme (recto); Deux hommes de profil (verso), 1900
11.25 x 9 inch
Fine Art Drawings
$125,000
Ceci est une conversation sérieuse et raisonnable, 2016
9.1 x 12.2 inch
Fine Art Drawings
$439