Dibujo al carboncillo

Dibujo al carboncillo

The dramatic, rich markings left by charcoal appear in the earliest primitive cave painting of early humans, which are believed to have been drawn with the charcoal createdfrom burnt sticks. Currently, three kinds of charcoals are used in art. Powered charcoal, compressed charcoal and vine charcoal. In its powdered form, charcoal is used to achieve a desired shading andtone. Charcoal pencils consist of compressed charcoal powder and a gum binder, which produces a fine, sharp line, while vine charcoal provides a smooth, softer line. Charcoal is sometimes viewed as apreliminary medium for sketching or drawing before painting.

Able to produce lines with either a soft or strong quality, charcoal is rather versatile, allowing the artist to approach texture,shading and tone with ease. Charcoal is easy to apply and does not adhere to the grooved surfaces of canvases, giving artists the freedom to create smooth drawings that are easily corrected.  However,without a fixative, charcoal illustrations are vulnerable to smudges, which could explain why so many artists use it as a preliminary tool. Throughout the Renaissance, most artists used charcoal toprepare their panel paintings or fresco murals, and many used charcoal in their drawing studies. However, some masters used charcoal alone or with chalks and ink to create stunning masterpieces.Michelangelo’s “Study of a Man Shouting” illustrates, that in a skilled hand, charcoal could capture both emotion and detail, and produce subtly in both shade and tone. Charcoal’s use continued beyond theRenaissance, sweeping through the Romantic period and into the modern 20th century. In the Romantic period, French sculptor, Antoine-Louis Baryen used charcoal to create "Dead Young Elephant." Hisdepiction of the fallen giant is another example of the depth and emotion possible in charcoal drawings. With a variety of dark and light strokes, and his shading and detail, the elephant’s image slowly...