DEGAS AND THE ART OF MOVEMENT: Drawing the Dance at the National Gallery

From Rubens’ energetic oil sketches to Degas’ haunting of the ballet, sketching in the wings of the opera, from Poussin’s clay maquettes to Titian’s leap of first love, the element of movement in painting is perhaps one of the most difficult artistic challenges to conquer. From drawing in gestural markmaking to understanding anatomy through drawing, through this unique session we will be examining these masters of movement in the National Gallery, London, uncovering the incredible diversity of paintings in the collection that deal with dance, motion and gesture.

With an in-depth tour of the gallery’s permanent collection in the morning, focusing on themes of motion, and the afternoon devoted to a curated series of drawing exercises, the unique nature of this session will be a study of multiple figures, movement and space, where students will be guided through the joys of expressive figure drawing, how to capture movement in gesture, line and tone, and how to balance compositions with more than one figure.

Please bring a sketchbook and drawing materials, all levels welcome including beginners! Please meet outside the National Gallery Sainsbury Wing Entrance at 11am sharp!