Category: Art drawing

THE DRAWN HISTORY OF ART – Trees in their own space

In both the analysis of Albert Edelfelt’s work and that of Vincent van Gogh, a style of representation emerges that is linked to the technique employed.

An Analysis of the Works of Albert Edelfelt and Vincent van Gogh.
I created two drawings using watercolours and oil pastels during one of the courses I teach in Paris.

In both the analysis of Albert Edelfelt’s work and that of Vincent van Gogh, a style of representation emerges that is linked to the technique employed.

Albert Edelfelt, Pyökkimetsää, 1901, Finnish National Gallery, Helsinki


In the case of A. Edelfelt, the artist began with a graphite drawing, then moved on to watercolour – a transparent medium – before applying opaque touches. This is no easy technique, as one must take care not to apply too much colour to the lighter areas, so as not to obscure them.

My artwork. Time taken: 20 minutes
© Stefano Zago – Tree in the Forest
Study of Albert Edelfelt’s artwork, Pyökkimetsää, 1901, Finnish National Gallery, Helsinki
Watercolour and oil pastels on paper
16 x 24 cm
2026
Vincent van Gogh, Olive Trees, 1889, oil on canvas, 72×92 cm, Kröller-Müller Museum, Otterlo

In the case of Van Gogh, who used opaque oil paints, and in my own case, where I use opaque oil pastels we can see how the artist can add light colours by layering them over the tree-like mass created by darker colours.
The density of the paint is, in my view, the basis of the uniqueness and modernity of Vincent Van Gogh’s work.

My artwork. Time taken: 10 minutes
© Stefano Zago – Olive Trees
Study based on Vincent van Gogh’s work, “Oliviers”, 1889, oil on canvas, 72 × 92 cm, Kröller-Müller Museum, Otterlo
Oil pastels on paper
16 x 24 cm
2026

Venice – From John Ruskin

VENEZIA – From JOHN RUSKIN
pencil and watercolor
13 x 10,5 cm
2026

A watercolour painted quickly in Venice, in front of the Ponte dei Pugni, from a sketch by John Ruskin.
Ruskin, as can be clearly seen, was also on a gondola and therefore his viewpoint was very low, much lower than the view usually enjoyed by those walking on the fondamenta.
I often use this drawing in my drawn art history lessons for this reason. The point of view is important. Observers in the past were different from us, and if it is true that space is produced by the observer, Venice is a place that allows us to reflect on this concept.
Like Ruskin, whom we imagine sitting in a gondola with a sketchbook and the minimum tools needed to paint his watercolours, or using only a pencil in three colours: a bluish grey, blue for the sky (created using the wet-on-wet technique) and a few touches of orange-ochre.