La Chiozotta, 1903. Pencil, pen and ink on paper.
Packing a pencil and grabbing a sketchbook, Kerry Patterson marched across Manchester to see if drawing really is the thing.
Walter Sickert once asserted that "any fool can paint, but drawing is the thing and drawing is the test."
It is this quotation, which inspires the title of the most recent exhibition of his work, currently on display at the Whitworth Art Gallery until December 5.
Drawing was central to Sickert’s art, as he believed it was the first stage to master before moving on to become a successful painter.
La Comedienne; Princess Pauline of the Old Bedford, London. Pastel andcoloured chalk on grey paper.
This exhibition explores the importance of drawing for the artist, illustrated with over 150 works from throughout his career.
The first section of the exhibition is devoted to music halls and theatres, a subject Sickert returned to frequently in his art. A brief stint as an actor early in his life meant he remained fascinated by all things theatrical. He was also partially influenced by his contact with French art, as he was a friend of Degas, whose work often featured Parisian cafes and theatres.
On his visits to the theatre, Sickert would draw in small notebooks, which could be easily concealed in the palm of his hand so he could draw unobserved.
These tiny sketches show performers, views of the stage from the crowd and details of the theatre sets and architecture.
On a variety of small scraps of paper, these drawings and hastily scribbled notes have retained their immediacy and offer a fascinating glance into an artist’s normally unseen working processes.
Study for L'Ennui, 1914, pencil, pen and ink, chalk.
After making a sketch or small-scale version of a drawing, Sickert would often ‘square up’ the piece by superimposing a grid, allowing the work to be transferred to a larger size. There are several examples of this, along with a short video to illustrate how the process works.
The exhibition also includes paintings by Sickert, the most notable of which is ‘Ennui’, showing a bored-looking couple in a Victorian interior.
Accompanied by numerous sketches showing experiments with composition and studies of details from the room, these works show the viewer the origins of the final painting, revealing the changes and alterations made.
Despite the fact he taught and lectured at art schools throughout his artistic career, Sickert is perhaps less known for this role. In the late 1920s, he began teaching in Manchester and a section of the exhibition is devoted to this time.
Study for The Actress, 1923, pencil, pen and ink and bodycolour on paper.
There are examples of his work from this period, as well that of his pupils and local artist Harry Rutherford, who took over Sickert’s art classes when he fell ill.
On display is also a restored lay figure, an articulated wooden model used by art students in place of a live model. This was used by the artist during his teaching at Bath School of Art.
This exhibition reveals drawing to be central to Sickert’s work, through showing the various ways the artist used sketches and drawings throughout his career.
Sickert’s drawings add an extra dimension to his paintings and are an intriguing look into the normally hidden working processes of an artist.
