My learning from the master continues. Few years back, I read through Irving Stone's book "The Agony and the Ecstasy", trying to understand a bit more of of man Michelangelo really way. It was a humbling read.
Pietà was one of his other sculptures which grew on me. Okay, I will confess, and I might be committing an act of blasphemy when I say that I don't admire Pietà because of its structural preciseness (like that of David). In fact if you study Pietà long enough, you will soon realize that Mary and Chist's bodies are disproportionate in size.
What intrigued and fascinated me on end was two things - serenity of expression on Mary's face and the cloth drapes. In stone sculptures, sharp facial features are easy to carve but when it comes to subtle expressions - I can't even imagine the level of complexity involved: there are so very few variables to play with.
Anyway, it took me nearly a month of studying all about drapes even before I could lay down the structure of the sketch.
Drapes are essentially the way fabric folds on itself due to two basic forces, gravity and the contour of the structure the fabric is draped upon. There is another dimension to it - the qualities of the fabric itself. Silk would fold differently than linen. A starched linen would fold differently than a well worn one.
Below is my humble attempt to sketch a tiny bit of the masterpiece. It's again a 18" x 24" sketch done in charcoal pastels and negatively shaded with kneaded erasers.
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