Parham, October.13.1834, Edward Lear
Graphite and white gouache on toned paper, roughly 10×7 inches (26×17 cm). Link is to a zoomable version on Google Art Project; downloadable version on Wikimedia Commons, original is in the Yale Center for British Art, which also has zoomable and downloadable versions.
Edward Lear, known these days more for his collections of nonsense verse than for his art, give us an apparently quickly and efficiently realized study of a tree. The name assigned to the drawing is simply taken from his notation at the bottom of the location and date of the drawing.
Lear’s graphite rendering in form-following lines is wonderfully set off on the toned paper by highlights of white gouache, effectively capturing the essence of the tree’s form and texture.
I love the jagged chiseled pencil strokes he uses to suggest the character of the foliage.
