It’s the end of April and our high temps are still in the mid to low 40s (F). Couple that with spring rains and I haven’t had much opportunity to sketch outdoors. So, when the new Masters of Olympus exhibition opened at the Musee de la Civilisation I saw it as an opportunity to sketch something new. Museum sketching is a winter thing, even if winter is at the end of April.
This exhibition is a presentation of Greek and Roman gods, mostly in the form of statues, busts, and painted pottery. The exhibition must have been laid out by a sketcher as there are lots of little nooks and crannies in which you can stick a stool to sketch and most of the statues are viewable from multiple points of view. In fact, following the opening ceremony the news promo for the exhibit made a point of saying that people were there sketching. I love my sketcher-friendly museum.
I decided to start this new exhibit by putting a toe in the water. In fact, I drew the whole foot. This foot came from what must have been a huge statue as this broken portion of the foot is at least three feet long.
Pilot Prera, Lex Gray ink – Stillman & Birn Alpha sketchbook
Maybe what’s left of the Collossus of Rhodes? Great sketch!
I think that one was made of bronze and lead. This foot was carved from marble (I think). If human dimensions are any indication, the foot suggests it came from a statue that was 15-18 feet tall.
Cheers — Larry
ps – I thought you were gone 🙂
Correction: I did the math based upon a false assumption. I’d forgotten that this 3-foot long foot was only the front 2/3 of the foot and that the entire heel/ankle wasn’t there. Add that and it suggests a statue closer to 30 feet. With small feet, even taller.
Cheers — Larry