Silverpoint

Silverpoint predates the use of graphite as a drawing medium and was used by old masters such as Jan Van Eyck, Leonardo da Vinci, Albrecht Durer and Raphael. Renaissance artists used silver and occasionally leadpoint for underdrawings of their paintings and for separate studies on paper.

Rembrandt's best known silverpoint drawing is a portrait of his wife Saskia dated 1633. However, by the 17th century, use of metalpoint was rare. By the 18th century, silverpoint was completely supplanted by the more versatile and immediate medium of graphite. Graphite completely replaced silverpoint as a fine drawing choice by the 19th century.

Alphonse Legros, Thomas Wilmer Dewing and Joseph Stella helped revitalize the medium at various times. Perhaps the best known modern silverpoint portrait is the 1920 portrait of Marcel Duchamp by Joseph Stella (69 by 53cm)in the collection of the Museum of Modern Art New York from the Katherine S. Drier bequest. Silverpoint has made a renaissance in the 1990's with the resurgence of drawing as an artistic end unto itself.

A silverpoint drawing can be made with a piece of sterling or pure silver wire held in a lead holder or handmade holder. Some artists simply wrap the wire in a spiral around a pencil with enough length extending over the tip of the pencil to make the drawn line visible to the artist's eyes. The gauge of silver wire used is somewhat determined by individual preferences of the artists. The firm paper or lightweight board to draw on needs to be smooth and coated with thin layers of rabbit skin gesso, acrylic gesso or gouache. The slight tooth made by the layer of paint takes a little of the silver as you move the point over the surface to make the drawing. The result is very delicate. The marks need to be built up carefully. Cross-hatching is an effective drawing technique for silverpoint. A kneaded eraser will effectively remove all but the strongest silverpoint lines, contrary to the myth that it is un-erasable. To start with the drawing is silvery but over time the silver will tarnish to a rusty black for an old master finish. Tarnish to deepen the tones can be hastened with a dilute mixture of delicately brushed-on egg yolk. The yellow yolk bleaches out in natural light within a week while the tarnished lines remain a deeper tone.