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People have been drawing since the beginning of human history. In fact, drawing provides some of our oldest accounts of our ancestors. The earliest known drawings date back to 30,000-10,000 BCE, and were found on cave walls of Altamira, Spain, and Lascaux, France, northern Spain, and southern France. -
Early Egyptians also decorated the walls of their temples and tombs by carving scenes of daily life, hieroglyphics, and religious deities, or gods, as early as 3,000 BC. Similar drawings have also been found drawn with ink on Egyptian papyrus, a paper-like material made from the papyrus plant that grew along the Nile River. -
Even the Ancient Greeks have several lasting artifacts of their drawing. The vases and pottery that were drawn or painted on by Ancient Greeks exhibit their graceful, decorative use of drawing.
The Greeks use drawing to depict scenes of battles and myths.( 900 and 30 BCE) -
Throughout the Middle Ages (400-1400 CE), drawings were produced primarily to express religious messages and stories of the Bible. Monks used drawing and painting to illustrate Bibles and prayer books for royal and wealthy families -
began to take the form we recognize today during the Renaissance. In Italy, drawing became recognized as a respectable art form because of the rise of the use of paper. Drawing became the foundation of all artwork; art students were trained in drawing before their training in other forms of art painting, sculpture, or architecture. -
During the 1600’s and 1700’s, the Baroque period introduced a new style of drawing that included livelier forms with flowing lines. During this time, artists also began using water color and ink washes. Another characteristic of the Baroque Period was the Counter Reformation. A leading artist of the Counter-Reformation was Peter Paul Rubens, who used a new technique called open composition, a style in which the piece of art seems to burst through the canvas itself. -
innovation defines the advancements in the art form of drawing during this period. Pencils were first manufactured early in the 1800’s and quickly became the most preferred drawing tools. Ingres and Goya were the principle artists spearheading the use of this new tool.