Art in the Making

I. The myths

Many theories have arisen about how a work of art comes into existence. They all have in common, however, the assumption that artists are equipped with particular creative abilities which differentiate them from other people. Inspiration, the ability to catch sight of possibilities hidden to ordinary mortals, and finally deprivation and concentration on work to the point of obsession, are the three most frequently identified components in the myths about how art comes into being.

Federico Zuccari’s (1541-1609) drawings depict his brother, Taddeo Zuccari, and how he suffered deprivation and toil for the sake of art.

At the gates of Rome, Taddeo is greeted by hard labour, servitude and ailment, and when he applies for work he is rebuffed and walks away in tears.

II. Mental images and idea-sketches

Theorising on the making of art began as far back as the fifteenth century. In Florence, Italy, writers, artists and scholars wrote about art, laying down the foundations of the perception of art prevalent in the Western world today. In the early seventeenth century, artist and art theorist Federico Zuccari (1541-1609) distinguished between ‘inner’ and ‘outer’ drawings. To him, the ‘inner drawing’ refers to the archetypal divine ideas that inspire mental images. They can be captured and turned into ‘outer drawings’ – the visual realisation of the inner mental images in the artist’s mind.

In his study for The Death of Empedocles, Salvator Rosa (1615-1673) let his hand follow his flickering mental images so that Empedocles is seen to fall in several stages, almost as if in a film.

Everything was scratched down at great speed, causing the drapery and limbs to become entangled in a chaotic network of lines.

IV. Detail-studies: Female models

When the artist had settled on a composition, the next step often involved studies of figures and details. Drawings of this kind are more concrete than composition sketches. Here, the artist would usually adjust the concept-based composition sketch by executing studies based on a live model placed in the planned pose or objects arranged as in the sketch. At this point the artist no longer focused on coming up with new ideas or changing the composition, devoting his attention to its individual components instead.

Christen Købke (1810-1848) and Erling Eckersberg (1808-1889) sat next to each other, viewing her from the rear. 


In order to transfer the watercolour to canvas, Carstens created a tracing by placing a piece of thin transparent paper on top of the watercolour, tracing the outlines and subsequently transferring them onto the ground for the painting.

Impressions from the tool used for this process can be detected here and there as dents along the outlines of the watercolour.

VI. The academies: Bendz

Drawings also allow us to see how the artists worked in their workshops and at the academies. Before the eighteenth century, aspiring artists trained as craftsmen under experienced masters. With the introduction of absolute monarchy in the eighteenth century, the state assumed control of the art scene. Royal art academies were established in order to ensure a sufficient supply of artists to decorate the monarchs’ palaces and official buildings. In Denmark, the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts in Copenhagen was officially founded in 1754. Draughtsmanship was regarded as the cornerstone of all artistic endeavour. As a result, the academies did not teach painting until far up into the nineteenth century.

The students were seated by rank, the most senior ones in the middle. We see, for example, Martinus Rørbye receive instruction from C.W. Eckersberg.

The youngest students were seated to the far left and right – including Bendz, who was clearly more interested in the janitor adjusting the lamps than in the model posing.

In the more common seventh and final state, Rembrandt is breaking away from Leyden’s focus on the individual reactions of spectators in the crowd to the presentation of Jesus.

Here, he blanked out the figures in front of the podium, focusing our attention on the central characters on the podium: Jesus, Barabbas and Pilate.

VIII. Cooperation: Juel and Clemens

Artists have co-operated in countless different ways through the ages. Co-operation could consist in informal collaboration between friends, or could be more formal, involving a master and pupil or two equal but specialised artists. In the spring of 1777, Jens Juel, J. F. Clemens, Simon Malgo and F. L. Brandt set out on an excursion to Monte Salève near Geneva. The drawing depicts the artists in states of slumber, rather the worse for wear after the evening’s celebrations.

According to Clemens, the most sketch-like of the drawings was done ‘By Juel with addition by Clemens’. The drawing was presumably created in four stages: after the night’s drinking had ended, Juel used a pencil to sketch the room, its furnishings, the empty bottles and the sleeping artists.

He then fell asleep, but soon Clemens woke up, adding Juel lying on the bed. Next day, Juel went over the entire sketch with pen and ink. Finally, Clemens worked up parts of the drawing with brush and wash.