Although the David d’Angers diagrams were drawn to show the general masses of the head as they are brought out in successive stages by a sculptor, yet they become very interesting to the printer who has not had the benefit of an art school education, for they show him at a glance how much of the character of the human head is dependent upon the different planes of the face, and it explains better than words what is meant by planes. Chapter VIII should be read in connection with it, and the Vallotton portraits, especially that of Malthus, may be examined critically with this in mind, for you will then see that Vallotton has introduced masses of black with the idea of suggesting planes in the face.
We introduce the de Chaume to accompany the David d’Angers, Lormier and d’Illzach medallions, to emphasize the matter of the planes of the human face. {137}
Medallion portrait of Hahnemann, after David d’Angers. Drawing by Carl Robert. Showing successive stages in modeling, from the flat to the relief.
We do not want our readers to think that the shadows we have pointed out in our text are the only ones to be noticed in the human face. Under certain circumstances, notably when an actor’s face is illuminated by the footlights, there are shadows upon it quite different from those we have analyzed in previous chapters. But the shadows we have pointed out are those most prominent in a photograph, and those most frequently employed by the artist, but if your drawing is to be very extensive you must learn to look for new shadows in new aspects; and the de Chaume shows some such shadows, yet in the case of the naso-labial line it is easy to see that {138}
Crayon drawing, from a medallion of Alf. Leroux, by E. Lormier. Drawn on stipple tinted board; or else on plain paper, and the mechanical stipple added to the same after the drawing was made.
Medallion portrait of M. A. Soisson, by Ringel d’Illzach. Drawn by the sculptor on scratchboard with horizontal line tint, the blacks drawn with crayon, the whites scratched out with a penknife. As in the Monet, our engraver, instead of reducing the cut by the direct process, reduced it by half-tone, through a screen with diagonal lines, hence the horizontal lines have disappeared. (See page [148])
{139} it is not far different from other naso-labial lines which we have considered.