Editing Drawing (section)

==History==

=== In communication ===
Drawing is one of the oldest forms of human expression, with evidence for its existence preceding that of written communication.<ref name="Tversky 2011 499–535">{{cite journal|last=Tversky|first=B|title=Visualizing thought|journal=Topics in Cognitive Science|year=2011|volume=3|issue=3|pages=499–535|doi=10.1111/j.1756-8765.2010.01113.x|pmid=25164401}}</ref> It is believed that drawing was used as a specialised form of communication before the invention of the written language,<ref name="Tversky 2011 499–535"/><ref>{{cite web|last=Farthing|first=S|title=The Bigger Picture of Drawing|url=http://ttd2011.pressible.org/files/2012/05/Thinking-through-Drawing_Practice-into-Knowledge.pdf|year=2011|access-date=2014-03-11|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140317224618/http://ttd2011.pressible.org/files/2012/05/Thinking-through-Drawing_Practice-into-Knowledge.pdf|archive-date=2014-03-17|url-status=dead}}</ref> demonstrated by the production of [[cave painting|cave and rock paintings]] around 30,000 years ago ([[Art of the Upper Paleolithic]]).<ref>[http://ttd2011.pressible.org/files/2012/05/Thinking-through-Drawing_Practice-into-Knowledge.pdf Thinking Through Drawing: Practice into Knowledge] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140317224618/http://ttd2011.pressible.org/files/2012/05/Thinking-through-Drawing_Practice-into-Knowledge.pdf |date=2014-03-17 }} 2011c{{page needed|date=December 2017}}</ref>
These drawings, known as pictograms, depicted objects and abstract concepts.<ref>{{cite book|last=Robinson|first=A|title=Writing and script: a very short introduction|year=2009|publisher=Oxford University Press|location=New York}}</ref> The sketches and paintings produced by Neolithic times were eventually stylised and simplified in to symbol systems ([[proto-writing]]) and eventually into early [[Bronze Age writing|writing systems]].

=== In manuscripts ===
Before the widespread availability of paper in Europe, [[monks]] in European monasteries used drawings, either as [[underdrawing]]s for [[illuminated manuscript]]s on vellum or parchment, or as the final image. Drawing has also been used extensively in the field of science, as a method of discovery, understanding and explanation.

=== In science ===
{{Main article|Technical illustration}}
[[File:Galileo moon phases.jpg|thumb|upright=0.7|[[Galileo Galilei]], ''Phases of the Moon'', 1609 or 1610, brown ink and wash on paper. 208 × 142 mm. [[National Central Library (Florence)]], Gal.&nbsp;48, fol.&nbsp;28r]]Drawing diagrams of observations is an important part of scientific study.

In 1609, astronomer [[Galileo Galilei]] explained the changing phases of Venus and also the [[Sunspot drawing|sunspots]] through his observational telescopic drawings.<ref name="Kovats 2005" /> In 1924, geophysicist [[Alfred Wegener]] used illustrations to visually demonstrate the origin of the continents.<ref name="Kovats 2005"  />

=== As artistic expression ===

Drawing is one of the easiest ways to visualise ideas and to express one's creativity; therefore it has been prominent in the world of art. Throughout much of history, drawing was regarded as the foundation for artistic practice.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Walker|first1=J. F|title=Drawing- The Process|year=2005|publisher=[[Intellect Books]]|location=Bristol|author2=Duff, L|author3=Davies, J|chapter=Old Manuals and New Pencils}}</ref> Initially, artists used and reused wooden tablets for the production of their drawings.<ref>See the discussion on erasable drawing boards and 'tafeletten' in {{cite book|last=van de Wetering|first=Ernst|title=Rembrandt: The Painter at Work}}</ref> Following the widespread availability of paper in the 14th century, the use of drawing in the arts increased. At this point, drawing was commonly used as a tool for thought and investigation, acting as a study medium whilst artists were preparing for their final pieces of work.<ref>{{cite web|last=Burton|first=J|title=Preface|url=http://ttd2011.pressible.org/files/2012/05/Thinking-through-Drawing_Practice-into-Knowledge.pdf|access-date=2014-03-11|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140317224618/http://ttd2011.pressible.org/files/2012/05/Thinking-through-Drawing_Practice-into-Knowledge.pdf|archive-date=2014-03-17|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite thesis|last=Chamberlain|first=R|title=Drawing Conclusions: An exploration of the cognitive and neuroscientific foundations of representational drawing.|year=2013|url=http://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/1408829/|type=Doctoral}}</ref> The [[Renaissance]] brought about a great sophistication in drawing techniques, enabling artists to represent things more realistically than before,<ref>{{cite book |last1=Davis |first1=P|title=Drawing – The Process|url=https://archive.org/details/drawingprocess00davi |url-access=limited |year=2005|publisher=Intellect Books|location=Bristol|pages=[https://archive.org/details/drawingprocess00davi/page/n19 15]–25|author2=Duff, L |author3=Davies, J|chapter=Drawing a Blank|isbn=9781841500768}}</ref> and revealing an interest in geometry and philosophy.<ref>{{cite web |last=Simmons |first=S |title=Philosophical Dimension of Drawing Instruction |url=http://ttd2011.pressible.org/files/2012/05/Thinking-through-Drawing_Practice-into-Knowledge.pdf |year=2011 |access-date=2014-03-11 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140317224618/http://ttd2011.pressible.org/files/2012/05/Thinking-through-Drawing_Practice-into-Knowledge.pdf |archive-date=2014-03-17 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

The invention of the first widely available form of [[photography]] led to a shift in the hierarchy of the arts.<ref>{{cite book|last=Poe|first=E. A.|title=The Daguerreotype. Classic Essays on Photography|year=1840|publisher=Leete's Island Books|location=New Haven, CN|pages=37–38}}</ref> Photography offered an alternative to drawing as a method for accurately representing visual phenomena, and traditional drawing practice was given less emphasis as an essential skill for artists, particularly so in Western society.<ref name="Kovats 2005">{{cite book|last=Kovats|first=T|title=The Drawing Book|year=2005|publisher=Black Dog Publishing|location=London|isbn = 9781904772330}}</ref>