Editing Silverpoint (section)

== History ==
A silverpoint drawing is made by dragging a [[silver]] rod or wire across a surface, often prepared with [[gesso]] or [[Ground (art)|ground]] of [[Chinese white]]. Silverpoint is one of several types of metalpoint used by scribes, craftsmen and artists since ancient times. Metalpoint [[Stylus|styli]] were used for writing on soft surfaces (wax or bark), ruling and underdrawing on parchment, and drawing on prepared paper and panel supports. For drawing purposes, the essential metals used were [[lead]], [[tin]] and silver. The softness of these metals made them effective drawing instruments.{{sfn|Watrous|1957}} [[Goldsmith]]s also used metalpoint drawings to prepare their detailed, meticulous designs. [[Albrecht Dürer]]'s father was one such craftsman who later taught his young son to draw in metalpoint, to such good effect that his 1484 ''[[Self-Portrait at the Age of 13]]'' is still considered a masterpiece.

In the late [[Gothic art|Gothic]]/early [[Renaissance]] era, silverpoint emerged as a fine line drawing technique. Not blunting as easily as lead or tin, and rendering precise detail, silverpoint was especially favored in Florentine and Flemish workshops. Silverpoint drawings of this era include model books and preparatory sheets for paintings. Artists who worked in silverpoint include [[Jan van Eyck]], [[Leonardo da Vinci]], Albrecht Dürer and [[Raphael]]. [[Cennino Cennini]]'s ''Il Libro dell'Arte'' provides a window on the practice of silver and leadpoint drawing, as well as preparing metalpoint grounds, in the late 14th century.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Cennini |first1=Cennino|author-link=Cennino Cennini|translator-last=Thompson |translator-first=Daniel Varney |title=The Craftsman's Handbook (Il Libro Dell'arte) |date=1933 |publisher=[[Dover Publications]] |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XMwfAAAAIAAJ}}</ref>{{sfn|Duval|Guicharnaud|Dran|2004}} [[Susan Dorothea White]]'s book ''Draw Like da Vinci'' describes the silverpoint technique of Leonardo da Vinci.<ref name="draw">{{cite book|last= White|first=Susan Dorothea|author-link=Susan Dorothea White|date=2006|title=Draw Like da Vinci|location=London|publisher=Cassell Illustrated|pages=22–25|isbn=978-1-84403-444-4}}</ref>

[[File:A stylus early Middle Ages probably European - cropped.jpg|thumb|300px|Medieval stylus]]
[[File:PointeArgent.jpg|thumb|300px|Modern silverpoint stylus]]
As noted by Francis Ames-Lewis, drawing styles changed at the end of the 16th century, resulting in a decline for metalpoint. The discovery of [[graphite]] deposits at [[Seathwaite Fell|Seathwaite]] in [[Borrowdale]], [[Cumbria]], [[England]], in the early 1500s, and its increasing availability to artists in a pure, soft (and erasable) form hastened silverpoint's eclipse. Artists sought more gestural qualities, for which graphite, red and black chalk were better suited. Ink and wash drawings are also prevalent in the period. In addition, these other drawing techniques required less effort and were more forgiving than silver, which resists erasure and leaves a fainter line. Furthermore, the preparation of silverpoint supports, usually with hide glue with finely ground bone ash, was labor-intensive. Modern practitioners use [[zinc]], pre-prepared [[Acrylic paint|acrylic]]-based grounds or [[Titanium dioxide|titanium white]] tempera or marble dust as a ground. Natural chalks and charcoal have the advantage of producing immediate results on uncoated papers.{{sfn|Ames-Lewis|2000}}

Dutch artists [[Hendrick Goltzius]] and [[Rembrandt]] maintained the silverpoint tradition into the 17th century, as it declined in other parts of Europe. Rembrandt made several silverpoints on prepared [[vellum]], the best-known being the portrait of his wife Saskia, 1633.<ref>{{cite web |title=Portrait of Saskia as a Bride – Inv.-No.: KdZ 1152|location=Berlin |url=https://artsandculture.google.com/asset/portrait-of-saskia-as-a-bride-rembrandt/xQFyoOfRaGb5TA |website=www.artsandculture.google.com |access-date=23 August 2021}}</ref> Botanical artists and architects continued to use metalpoint because of its exact lines. However, artists who continued this tradition of fine line drawing, such as [[Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres]], turned to graphite, which gradually improved in quality and availability throughout Europe since the 17th century. Silverpoint was for practical purposes rendered obsolete by the 18th century.{{sfn|Reiche|Radtke|Berger|2006}} There has however been a contemporary art revival among European and American artists and academies because the medium imposes considerable discipline in draughtsmanship since drawings cannot be erased or altered.