Excerpt
Writers, critics, and artists have for aeons tried to describe and explain drawing. They have written: "He's a great draughtsman"; He draws with calligraphic verve";"...a linear delight with a personal, exciting line." Etcetera, etcetera.
What do they mean?
Picasso, Ingres, and Mary Cassatt were great draughtspersons, but were all very different. John Singer Sargent's delightful calligraphic brush strokes were exciting. Picasso's line was honest. The art of drawing has been analyzed dissected, and even "Freudianized" through the ages by expert and dilettante critics. So let's get personal and get to the basics: What is a drawing?