Metalpoint Drawings

From medieval times through the Renaissance period drawings were made using ‘metal points’. Silverpoint was popularized by craftsmen, artists and scribes, however, a variety of metals were used including gold compounds, tin, antimony, bronze, and lead. Each metal oxidizes and darkens to a subtle grey-brown hue, with the exception of gold, which does not tarnish over time. A metalpoint drawing is made by applying the stylus to a coated surface, such as gesso preparation. As the stylus moves across the textured ground, it deposits miniscule particles of metal and creates a mark.

Although metalpoint is an obsolete drawing medium today, a small contingent of artists revived the process in the early 20th century, including Otto Dix, Paul Cadmus, Jasper Johns, Xavier Timoteo Martínez, Pablo Picasso and Joseph Stella. Metalpoint marks are indelible; erasure is impossible except with careful scraping of the prepared surface. Confident mark making is essential to this technique and lends itself to a precise linear style of drawing.

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