4606 - Shadow drawings.

Shadow drawings. Two Neoclassical shadow drawings of architectural elements, Franconian, circa 1825. Pen in black, washed in gray, on vellum. a.) Elevation and cross-section of an Ionic capital, labeled: recto: "Ionic Capital," verso: "Vondschär, Würzburg, c. 1825." 43.2 × 27.8 cm. Brown spots throughout. In addition to the precise rendering of the architectural forms, the draughtsman uses a geometric construction to depict the exact shadow cast by the column with capital on a rear wall when light falls at an angle. b.) Corner of a Neoclassical corbel cornice inscribed: "... 5 o'clock. On July 8 (evening)," verso: "B..mstr... Vondaschär, Miltenberg 1828–78, Würzburg ca. 1824." 20.1 × 26.2 cm. Brown spots throughout. As in the previous drawing, the artist uses complex geometric calculations to construct the shadow effect of the corbels on the southern "midday wall." In Classicism, influenced by French Revolutionary architecture, architectural designs abandoned the painterly treatment of the interplay of light and shadow—as was customary in the Baroque—in favor of an atmosphere-less rendering of light and shadow values. In Germany, this style was popularized by Friedrich Weinbrenner’s “Architectural Textbook,” which was published in Tübingen between 1810 and 1817.