The reflection of an image in the water is always somewhat restless. Perhaps this is because it reveals its own instability. In this session, we will work around a painting by Claude Monet, a visual poet who was able to capture that inherent instability through the act of painting and drawing.

In this session, we will look at a work that conveys a moment that contrasts with the very swift technique used to paint it, although both times meet harmoniously in this painting. There is an intrinsic temporal relationship in drawing. This combination of times is something we can observe in the painting that is the focus of this session. By examining it, we will think about these notions at the same time as exploring a more gestural approach to drawing.

In this session we will focus on three landscapes by Corot. Jean-Baptiste Camille Corot was one of the most significant landscape artists of the nineteenth century and his influence can be felt from Barbizon to Impressionism. Through the most striking characteristics of his output, such as atmospheric perspective and the increasingly subtle treatment of light and shade, we will also immerse ourselves in these landscapes through the practice of drawing.

It is always interesting to look at a European portrait from the seventeenth century – a time when this genre became hugely important – and to try to perceive what is actually being portrayed. Is it the sitter, as a unique individual? Or could it be their context, or more specifically their social class? In this session, we will explore various aspects of the portrait, through drawing.

When we draw, we are reacting to each surface and texture, perceiving the essential lines of a composition. We often have to deconstruct and reconstruct an image. In this session, we will explore all these aspects through a series of drawing exercises, from the starting point of a full-body portrait created in the seventeenth century, where different textures are emphasised.

Still working on the full human figure, this time through an emblematic sculpture from the Gulbenkian Collection, this session will explore the idea of suspension, which is inevitably linked to the notion of movement, taking the opportunity to work on proportion and composition.

In this session we will draw from our observation of an impressionist painting. Through this painting, we will see how our perception is changed as we draw. We will explore a language of linear and tonal lines, creating a weave in which we explore the gesture that responds to each instant.

In a portrait full of themes where each element demands meticulous attention, we will explore the question of what to draw first. We will work on the construction of the drawing, its various planes, at the same time as creating a portrait.

Sometimes the act of drawing can resemble the job of a detective. We start by observing what we find, and questions arise as we move closer. We take note of the details, which open possible routes to understanding the composition. The greater our attention and curiosity, the more clues reveal themselves.

In this session we will devote our attention to an eighteenth-century French sculpture. This work has an interesting particularity, as it was initially part of a sculptural group with other figures, and the artist decided to isolate it and make a standalone sculpture from it. This process is something we can also do in drawing: isolate a detail, to which we give our full attention.