Eye Candy for Today: John Brown’s Cave of Dionysius

The Cave of Dionysius, Syracuse; John Brown, pen and brown ink
The Cave of Dionysius, Syracuse; John Brown

In the Morgan Library and Museum, NY. Use the zoom feature or download link.

Pen and brown ink, approximately 18 x 11 inches (46 x 27 cm).

A wonderful sense of light and texture is carried throughout the drawing. It’s a fascinating composition in which the subject, though small in relation to the setting, is dramatically highlighted with control of value.

I particularly love the way the gnarled trees and string-like vines are handled, along with the wonderful directional control of the hatched lines. This is a monochromatic drawing with lot of “color”.

 
FacebooktwitterredditpinterestlinkedinFacebooktwitterredditpinterestlinkedin

3 Replies to “Eye Candy for Today: John Brown’s Cave of Dionysius”

Comments are closed.