ARCHITECTURAL DRAWING
It is but a few years since architects' perspectives were "built
up" (it would be a mistake to say "drawn") by means of a T-square
and the ruling pen; and if architectural drawing has not quite
kept pace with that for general illustration since, a backward
glance over the professional magazines encourages a feeling of
comparative complacency. That so high a standard or so artistic
a character is not observable in architectural as in general
illustration is, I think, not difficult to explain. Very few of the
clever architectural draughtsmen are illustrators by profession.
Few, even of those who are generally known as illustrators, are
anything more--I should perhaps say anything _less_--than versatile
architects; and yet Mr. Pennell, who would appear to assume, in
his book on drawing, that the point of view of the architect is
normally pictorial, seems at a loss to explain why Mr. Robert Blum,
for instance, can illustrate an architectural subject more artistically
than any of the draughtsmen in the profession. Without accepting
his premises, it is remarkably creditable to architecture that
it counts among its members in this country such men as Mr. B.
G. Goodhue and Mr. Wilson Eyre, Jr., and in England such thorough
artists as Mr. Prentice and Mr. Ernest George--men known even to
distinction for their skill along lines of purely architectural
practice, yet any one of whom would, I venture to say, cause
considerable displacement did he invade the ranks of magazine
illustrators. Moreover (and the suggestion is not unkindly offered),
were the architects and the illustrators to change places architecture
would suffer most by the process.
[Side note: _The Architects' Case_]
That the average architect should be incapable of artistically
illustrating his own design, ought, I think, to be less an occasion
for surprise than that few painters, whose point of view is essentially
pictorial, can make even a tolerable interpretation in line of their
own paintings. Be it remembered that the pictures made by the architect
are seldom the records of actualities. The buildings themselves
are merely contemplated, and the illustrations are worked up from
geometrical elevations in the office, very, very far from Nature.
Moreover, the subjects are not infrequently such as lend themselves
with an ill grace to picturesque illustration. The structure to be
depicted may, for instance, be a heavy cubical mass with a bald
uninteresting sky-line; or it may be a tall office building, impossible
to reconcile with natural accessories either in pictorial scale or
in composition. These natural accessories, too, the draughtsman
must, with an occasional recourse to his photograph album, evolve
out of his inner consciousness. When it is further considered that
such structures, even when actualities, are uncompromisingly stiff
and immaculate in their newness, presenting absolutely none of
those interesting accidents so dear to the artist, and perhaps with
nothing whatever about them of picturesque suggestion, we have a
problem presented which is somewhat analogous to that presented by
the sculpturesque possibilities of "fashionable trousering." That,
with such uninspiring conditions, architectural illustration does not
develop so interesting a character nor attain to so high a standard
as distinguishes general illustration is not to be wondered at. It
is rather an occasion for surprise that it exhibits so little of
the artificiality of the fashion-plate after all, and that the better
part of it, at least, is not more unworthy than figure illustration
would be were it denied the invaluable aid of the living model.
So much by way of apology.
[Side note: _The Architects' Point of View_]
The architectural perspective, however, is not to be regarded purely
from the pictorial point of view. It is an illustration first, a
picture afterwards, and almost invariably deals with an individual
building, which is the essential subject. This building cannot,
therefore, be made a mere foil for interesting "picturesqueries,"
nor subordinated to any scenic effect of landscape or chiaroscuro.
Natural accessories or interesting bits of street life may be added
to give it an appropriate setting; but the result must clearly
read "Building, with landscape," not "Landscape, with building."
Much suggestion for the sympathetic handling of particular subjects
may be found in the character of the architecture itself. The
illustrator ought to enter into the spirit of the designer, ought to
feel just what natural accessories lend themselves most harmoniously
to this or that particular type. If the architecture be quaint
and picturesque it must not have prosaic surroundings. If, on the
other hand, it be formal or monumental, the character and scale of
the accessories should be accordingly serious and dignified. The
rendering ought also to vary with the subject,--a free picturesque
manner for the one, a more studied and responsible handling for
the other. Technique is the language of art, and a stiff pompous
phraseology will accord ill with a story of quaint humor or pathos,
while the homely diction that might answer very well would be sure to
struggle at a disadvantage with the stately meanings and diplomatic
subtleties of a state document.
[Side note: _Rendering of Detail_]
It would be well for the student, before venturing upon whole subjects,
to learn to render details, such as windows, cornices, etc. Windows
are a most important feature of the architectural drawing, and the
beginner must study them carefully, experimenting for the method
which will best represent their glassy surfaces. No material gives
such play of light and shade as glass does. One window is never
absolutely like another; so that while a certain uniformity in
their value may be required for breadth of effect in the drawing of
a building, there is plenty of opportunity for incidental variety
in their treatment.
A few practical hints on the rendering of windows may prove serviceable.
Always emphasize the sash. Where there is no recess, as in wooden
buildings, strengthen the inner line of sash, as in Fig. 41. In
masonry buildings the frame and sash can be given their proper
values, the area of wood being treated broadly, without regard
to the individual members. The wood may, however, be left white
if required, as would be the case in Colonial designs. In either
case the dark shadow which the sash casts on the glass should be
suggested, if the scale of the drawing be such as to permit of it.
Do not try to show too much. One is apt to make a fussy effect,
if, for instance, one insists on always shading the soffit of the
masonry opening, especially if the scale of the drawing be small.
Besides, a white soffit is not a false but merely a forced value,
as in strong sunlight the reflected light is considerable. If the
frame be left white, however, the soffit ought to be shaded, otherwise
it will be difficult to keep the values distinct. In respect of
wooden buildings there is no need to always complete the mouldings
of the architrave. Notice in Fig. 41 that, in the window without
the muntins, the mouldings have been carried round the top to give
color, but that in the other they are merely suggested at the corners
so as to avoid confusion. Care should be taken to avoid mechanical
rendering of the muntins. For the glass itself, a uniformly flat
tone is to be avoided. The tones should soften vaguely. It will be
found, too, that it is not advisable to have a strong dark effect
at the top of the window and another at the bottom; one should
predominate.
[Illustration: FIG. 41 C. D. M.]
The student after careful study of Fig. 41 should make from it
enlarged drawings, and afterwards, laying the book aside, proceed
to render them in his own way. When he has done so, let him compare
his work with the originals. This process ought to be repeated
several times, the aim being always for _similarity_, not for
_literalness_ of effect. If he can get equally good results with
another method he need not be disconcerted at the lack of any further
resemblance.
The cornice with its shadow is another salient feature. In short
shadows, such as those cast by cornices, it is well, if a sunny
effect be desired, to accent the bottom edge of the shadow. The shadow
lines ought to be generally parallel, but with enough variation to
obviate a mechanical effect. They need not be vertical lines,--in
fact it is better that they should take the same slant as the light.
If they are not absolutely perpendicular, however, it is well to make
them distinctly oblique, otherwise the effect will be unpleasant.
A clever sketch of a cornice by Mr. George F. Newton is shown in
Fig. 42. Notice how well the texture of the brick is expressed
by the looseness of the pen work. Some of the detail, too, is
dexterously handled, notably the bead and button moulding.
The strength of the cornice shadow should be determined by the tone
of the roof above it. To obtain for this shadow the very distinct
value which it ought to have, however, does not require that the
roof be kept always much lighter than it. In the gable roof in
Fig. 57, the tone of the roof is shaded lighter as it approaches
the eaves, so that the shadow may count more emphatically. This
order may be reversed, as in the case of a building with dark roof
and light walls, in which case the shadow may be grayer than the
lower portion of the roof, as in "B" in Fig. 44.
[Illustration: FIG. 42 GEORGE F. NEWTON]
But the beginner should not yet hurry on to whole subjects. A church
porch, as in Fig. 35, or a dormer with its shadow cast on a roof,
as in Fig. 43, will be just as beneficial a study for him as an
entire building, and will afford quite as good an opportunity for
testing his knowledge of the principles of pen drawing, with the
added advantage that either of the subjects mentioned can be mapped
out in a few minutes, and that a failure or two, therefore, will
not prove so discouraging as if a more intricate subject had to
be re-drawn. I have known promising beginners to give up pen and
ink drawing in despair because they found themselves unequal to
subjects which would have presented not a few difficulties to the
experienced illustrator. When the beginner grows faint-hearted,
let him seek consolation and encouragement in the thought that were
pen drawing something to be mastered in a week or a month there
would be small merit in the accomplishment.
[Illustration: FIG. 43 C. D. M.]
[Side note: _A General System_]
It is a common fault of students to dive into the picture unthinkingly,
beginning anywhere, without the vaguest plan of a general effect,
whereas it is of the utmost importance that every stroke of the
pen be made with intelligent regard to the ultimate result. The
following general method will be found valuable.
Pencil the outline of the entire subject before beginning the pen
work. It will not do to start on the rendering as soon as the building
alone is pencilled out, leaving the accessories to be put in as
one goes along. The adjacent buildings, the foliage, and even the
figures must be drawn--carefully drawn--before the pen is taken up.
The whole subject from the very beginning should be under control,
and to that end it becomes necessary to have all the elements of
it pre-arranged.
[Side note: _Arrangement of the Values_]
Next scheme out the values. This is the time to do the thinking. Do
not start out rashly as soon as everything is outlined in pencil,
confident in the belief that all windows, for instance, are dark,
and that you may as well make them so at once and be done with
them. This will be only to court disaster. Besides, all windows
are not dark; they may be very light indeed. The color value of
nothing is absolute. A shadow may seem almost black till a figure
passes into it, when it may become quite gray by comparison. So a
window with the sun shining full upon it, or even one in shade, on
which a reflected light is cast, may be brilliantly light until the
next instant a cloud shadow is reflected in it, making it densely
black. Arrange the values, therefore, with reference to one general
effect, deciding first of all on the direction of the light. Should
this be such as to throw large areas of shadow, these masses of
gray will be important elements in the color-scheme. An excellent
way to study values is to make a tracing-paper copy of the line
drawing and to experiment on this for the color with charcoal,
making several sketches if necessary. After having determined on
a satisfactory scheme, put fixatif on the rough sketch and keep
it in sight. Otherwise, one is liable, especially if the subject
is an intricate one, to be led astray by little opportunities for
interesting effects here and there, only to discover, when too
late, that these effects do not hang together and that the drawing
has lost its breadth. The rough sketch is to the draughts man what
manuscript notes are to the lecturer.
[Side note: _Treatment of Detail_]
Do not be over-conscious of detail. It is a common weakness of the
architectural draughts man to be too sophisticated in his pictorial
illustration. He knows so much about the building that no matter how
many thousand yards away from it he may stand he will see things
that would not reveal themselves to another with the assistance
of a field-glass. He is conscious of the fact that there are just
so many brick courses to the foot, that the clapboards are laid
just so many inches to the weather, that there are just so many
mouldings in the belt course,--that everything in general is very,
very mathematical. This is not because his point of view is too
big, but because it is too small. He who sees so much never by any
chance sees the _whole building_. Let him try to think broadly of
things. Even should he succeed in forgetting some of these factitious
details, the result will still be stiff enough, so hard is it to
re-adjust one's attitude after manipulating the T-square. I strongly
recommend, as an invaluable aid toward such a re-adjustment, the
habit of sketching from Nature,--from the figure during the winter
evenings, and out of doors in summer.
[Illustration: FIG. 44 C. D. M.]
The beginner is apt to find his effects at first rather hard and
mechanical at the best, because he has not yet attained that freedom
of handling which ignores unimportant details, suggests rather
than states, gives interesting variations of line and tone, and
differentiates textures. A good part of the unpleasantness of effect
will undoubtedly be found to be due to a mistaken regard for accuracy
of statement, individual mouldings being lined in as deliberately
as in the geometrical office drawings, and not an egg nor a dart
slighted. Take, for example, the case of an old Colonial building
with its white cornice, or any building with white trimmings. See
the effect of such a one in an "elevation" where all the detail is
drawn, as in "A," Fig. 44. Observe that the amount of ink necessary
to express this detail has made the cornice darker than the rest
of the drawing, and yet this is quite the reverse of the value
which it would have in the actual building, see "B." To obtain
the true value the different mouldings which make up the cornice
should be merely suggested. Where it is not a question of local
color, however, this matter of elimination is largely subject to
the exigencies of reproduction; the more precisely and intimately
one attempts to render detail, the smaller the scale of the technique
requires to be, and the greater the difficulty. Consequently, the more
the reduction which the drawing is likely to undergo in printing,
the more one will be obliged to disregard the finer details. These
finer details need not, however, be absolutely ignored. Notice, for
instance, the clever suggestion of the sculpture in the admirable
drawing by Mr. F. E. Wallis, Fig. 45. The conventional drawing
of the façade, Fig. 46, is a fine illustration of the decorative
effect of color obtainable by emphasizing the organic lines of
the design.
[Illustration: FIG. 45 FRANK E. WALLIS]
[Side note: _Foliage and Figures_]
The elements in a perspective drawing which present most difficulties
to the architectural draughtsman are foliage and figures. These
are, however, most important accessories, and must be cleverly
handled. It is difficult to say which is the harder to draw, a tree
or a human figure; and if the student has not sketched much from
Nature either will prove a stumbling-block. Presuming, therefore,
that he has already filled a few sketch-books, he had better resort
to these, or to his photograph album, when he needs figures for
his perspective. Designing figures and trees out of one's inner
consciousness is slow work and not very profitable; and if the
figure draughtsman may employ models, the architect may be permitted
to use photographs.
[Illustration: FIG. 46 HARRY ALLAN JACOBS]
Unhappily for the beginner, no two illustrators consent to render
foliage, or anything else for that matter, in quite the same way,
and so I cannot present any authoritative formula for doing so.
This subject has been treated, however, in a previous chapter, and
nothing need be added here except to call attention to an employment
of foliage peculiar to architectural drawings. This is the broad
suggestive rendering of dark leafage at the sides of a building,
to give it relief. The example shown in Fig. 47 is from one of
Mr. Gregg's drawings.
[Illustration: FIG. 47 D. A. GREGG]
The rendering of the human figure need not be dealt with under
this head, as figures in an architectural subject are of necessity
relatively small, and therefore have to be rendered very broadly.
Careful drawing is none the less essential, however, if their presence
is to be justified; and badly drawn figures furnish a tempting
target for the critic of architectural pictures. Certainly, it
is only too evident that the people usually seen in such pictures
are utterly incapable of taking the slightest interest whatever in
architecture, or in anything else; and not infrequently they seem
to be even more immovable objects than the buildings themselves,
so fixed and inflexible are they. Such figures as these only detract
from the interest of the drawing, instead of adding to it, and the
draughtsman who has no special aptitude is wise in either omitting
them altogether, or in using very few, and is perhaps still wiser
if he entrusts the drawing of these to one of his associates more
accomplished in this special direction.
The first thing to decide in the matter of figures is their arrangement
and grouping, and when this has been determined they should be
sketched in lightly in pencil. In this connection a few words by
way of suggestion may be found useful. Be careful to avoid anything
like an equal spacing of the figures. Group the people interestingly.
I have seen as many as thirty individuals in a drawing, no two of
whom seemed to be acquainted,--a very unhappy condition of affairs
even from a purely pictorial point of view. Do not over-emphasize the
base of a building by stringing all the figures along the sidewalks.
The lines of the curbs would thus confine and frame them in
unpleasantly. Break the continuity of the street lines with figures
or carriages in the roadway, as in Fig. 55. After the figures have
been satisfactorily arranged, they ought to be carefully drawn as
to outline. In doing so, take pains to vary the postures, giving
them action, and avoiding the stiff wooden, fashion-plate type of
person so common to architectural drawings. When the time comes
to render these accessories with the pen (and this ought, by the
way, to be the last thing done) do not lose the freedom and breadth
of the drawing by dwelling too long on them. Rise superior to such
details as the patterns of neckties.
We will now consider the application to architectural subjects
of the remarks on technique and color contained in the previous
chapters.
[Side note: _Architectural Textures_]
To learn to render the different textures of the materials used in
architecture, the student would do well to examine and study the
methods of prominent illustrators, and then proceed to forget them,
developing meanwhile a method of his own. It will be instructive for
him, however, as showing the opportunity for play of individuality,
to notice how very different, for instance, is Mr. Gregg's manner
of rendering brick work to that of Mr. Railton. Compare Figs. 48
and 49. One is splendidly broad,--almost decorative,--the other
intimate and picturesque. The work of both these men is eminently
worthy of study. For the sophisticated simplicity and directness of
his method and the almost severe conscientiousness of his drawing,
no less than for his masterly knowledge of black and white, no safer
guide could be commended to the young architectural pen-man for the
study of principles than Mr. Gregg. Architectural illustration in
America owes much to his influence and, indeed, he may be said to
have furnished it with a grammar. Take his drawing of the English
cottages, Fig. 50. It is a masterly piece of pen work. There is
not a feeble or tentative stroke in the whole of it. The color
is brilliant and the textures are expressed with wonderful skill.
The student ought to carefully observe the rendering of the various
roofs. Notice how the character of the thatch on the second cottage
differs from that on the first, and how radically the method of
rendering of either varies from that used on the shingle roof at
the end of the picture. Compare also the two gable chimneys with
each other as well as with the old ruin seen over the tree-tops.
Here is a drawing by an architectural draughtsman of an architectural
_actuality_ and not of an artificial abstraction. This is a fairer
ground on which to meet the illustrators of the picturesque.
[Illustration: FIG. 48 D. A. GREGG]
[Illustration: FIG. 49 HERBERT RAILTON]
[Illustration: FIG. 50 D. A. GREGG]
[Illustration: FIG. 51 WALTER M. CAMPBELL]
[Illustration: FIG. 52 HERBERT RAILTON]
[Illustration: FIG. 53 A. F. JACCACI]
[Illustration: FIG. 54 C. F. BRAGDON]
[Illustration: FIG. 55 HARVEY ELLIS]
[Side note: _Examples_]
Mr. Campbell's drawing, Fig. 51, is a very good example of the
rendering of stone textures. The old masonry is capitally expressed
by the short irregular line. The student is advised to select some
portion of this, as well as of the preceding example to copy, using,
no matter how small the drawings he may make, a pen not smaller
than number 303. I know of no architectural illustrator who hits
stonework off quite so cleverly as Mr. Goodhue. Notice, in his
drawing of the masonry, in Fig. 8, how the stones are picked out
and rendered individually in places and how this intimate treatment
is confined to the top of the tower where it tells against the
textures of the various roofs and how it is then merged in a broad
gray tone which is carried to the street. Mr. Railton's sketches are
full of clever suggestion for the architectural illustrator in the
way of texture. Figs. 7 and 52 show his free rendering of masonry.
The latter is an especially very good subject for study. Observe
how well the texture tells in the high portion of the abutment by
reason of the thick, broken lines. For a distant effect of stone
texture, the drawing by Mr. Jaccaci, Fig. 53, is a fine example.
In this the rendering is confined merely to the organic lines of
the architecture, and yet the texture is capitally expressed by
the quality of the stroke, which is loose and much broken. The
general result is extremely crisp and pleasing. For broad rendering
of brick textures, perhaps there is no one who shows such a masterly
method as Mr. Gregg. As may be seen in his sketch of the blacksmith
shop, Fig. 48, he employs an irregular dragging line with a great
deal of feeling. The brick panel by Mr. Bragdon, Fig. 54, is a neat
piece of work. There is excellent texture, too, in the picturesque
drawing by Mr. Harvey Ellis, Fig. 55:--observe the rendering of
the rough brick surface at the left side of the building. A more
intimate treatment is that illustrated in the detail by Mr. C.
E. Mallows, the English draughts man, Fig. 56. In this drawing,
however, the edges of the building are unpleasantly hard, and are
somewhat out of character with the quaint rendering of the surfaces.
Mr. Goodhue uses a similar treatment, and, I think, rather more
successfully. On the whole, the broader method, where the texture
is carried out more uniformly, is more to be commended, at least
for the study of the beginner. Some examples of shingle and slate
textures are illustrated by Fig. 57. It is advisable to employ a
larger pen for the shingle, so as to ensure the requisite coarseness
of effect.
[Illustration: FIG. 56 C. E. MALLOWS]
[Illustration: FIG. 57 C. D. M.]
[Illustration: FIG. 58 C. D. M.]
[Side note: _An Architectural Problem_]
To favorably illustrate an architectural subject it will be found
generally expedient to give prominence to one particular elevation
in the perspective, the other being permitted to vanish sharply. Fig.
58 may be said to be a fairly typical problem for the architectural
penman. The old building on the right, it must be understood, is
not a mere accessory, but is an essential part of the picture. The
matter of surroundings is the first we have to decide upon, and
these ought always to be disposed with reference to the particular
form of composition which the subject may suggest. Were we dealing
with the foreground building alone there would be no difficulty
in adjusting the oval or the diamond form of composition to it.*
As it is, the difficulty lies in the long crested roof-line which
takes the same oblique angle as the line of the street, and the
influence of this line must be, as far as possible, counteracted.
Now the heavy over-hang of the principal roof will naturally cast
a shadow which will be an important line in the composition, so we
arrange our accessories at the right of the picture in reference
to this. Observe that the line of the eaves, if continued, would
intersect the top of the gable chimney. The dwelling and the tree
then form a focus for the converging lines of sidewalk and roof,
thus qualifying the vertical effect of the building on the right.
As the obliquity of the composition is still objectionable, we
decide to introduce a foreground figure which will break up the
line of the long sidewalk, and place it so that it will increase
the influence of some contrary line, see Fig. 59. We find that by
putting it a little to the right of the entrance and on a line
with that of the left sidewalk, the picture is pleasingly balanced.
[Footnote *: See footnote on page 62.]
[Illustration: FIG. 59 C. D. M.]
We are now ready to consider the disposition of the values. As I
have said before, these are determined by the scheme of light and
shade. For this reason any given subject may be variously treated.
We do not necessarily seek the scheme which will make the most
pictorial effect, however, but the one which will serve to set
off the building to the best advantage. It is apparent that the
most intelligible idea of the form of the structure will be given
by shading one side; and, as the front is the more important and
the more interesting elevation, on which we need sunlight to give
expression to the composition, it is natural to shade the other,
thus affording a foil for the bright effects on the front. This
bright effect will be further enhanced if we assume that the local
color of the roof is darker than that of the walls, so that we
can give it a gray tone, which will also make the main building
stand away from the other. If, however, we were to likewise assume
that the roof of the other building were darker than its walls, we
should be obliged to emphasize the objectionable roof line, and
as, in any case, we want a dark effect lower down on the walls to
give relief to our main building, we will assume that the local color
of the older walls is darker than that of the new. The shadow of the
main cornice we will make quite strong, emphasis being placed on
the nearer corner, which is made almost black. This color is repeated
in the windows, which, coming as they do in a group, are some of
them more filled in than others, to avoid an effect of monotony.
The strong note of the drawing is then given by the foreground
figure.
[Illustration: FIG. 60 C. D. M.]
Another scheme for the treatment of this same subject is illustrated
by Fig. 60. Here, by the introduction of the tree at the right of
the picture, a triangular composition is adopted. Observe that the
sidewalk and roof lines at the left side of the building radiate
to the bottom and top of the tree respectively. The shadow of the
tree helps to form the bottom line of the triangle. In this case
the foreground figure is omitted, as it would have made the
triangularity too obvious. In the color-scheme the tree is made the
principal dark, and this dark is repeated in the cornice shadow,
windows and figures as before. The gray tone of the old building
qualifies the blackness of the tree, which would otherwise have made
too strong a contrast at the edge of the picture, and so detracted
from the interest of the main building.