A Universal Language

After Raphael, pencil

 “The art of life is to show your hand.” 
– E.V. Lucas

The hand has played a part in the creative life of every known society, and it has come to be symbolic or representative of the whole person in all forms of art.

They are the organs of the body that, except for the face, have been used most often in the various art forms to express human feeling. The hands point or lead or command; the hands cry out in agony or they lie quietly sleeping; the hands have moods, character, and, in a wider sense, their own particular beauty.

Caliari, chalk

Throughout the history of art hands in particular have played an important role in communicating meaning within paintings. In the Renaissance with the importance on humanism and portraying the human form as accurately as possible, it became vital that artists be able to capture hand gestures. Thus hand studies became common. The four studies of the human hand, done by Carlo Caliari, Bartolommeo Passarotti, Leonardo da Vinci, and a sixteenth century drawing done in the style of Raphael, all reflect on the time and trials that the artist underwent in the search for the perfect pose, the ideal lighting and placement.

The work of Carlo Caliari is precise and delicate, both technically and in the physical types. Caliari’s oily black chalk, heightened with white on gray paper study of hands and arms are more developed than the black and white sketches of the other artists. In his sketches, Caliari seems to be developing and grasping the highlights and shadows of the bones and muscles visible in the hand. He explores the grip of the hand in the second from the top sketch can indicate much. If the hand is tight on an object, the individual controlling it may be experiencing heightened emotions, fear anger etc. whereas if they have a looser grip such as the one in the sketches, they may be calmer, and more collected.

Passaroti, pen and ink

Praised by early biographers as a draftsman and engraver, Bartolommeo Passarotti employed a distinctive cross-hatching technique in most of his drawings. His anatomical interest in powerful, acrobatic figures is dramatically evident in his drawings. In this particular sketch, done in the last half of the 16^th century, eight different hand gestures are being studied. Whereas some have slight variations from another, it is obvious that Passarotti was working through them in order to find the perfect one that spoke to him for his piece. Passarotti’s choice in medium of pen and ink allowed for him to develop shadows and highlights with cross-hatch only. The cross-hatching technique creates the illusion of three dimensionality on the two dimensional surface.

Leonardo da Vinci is known for his Mona Lisa and Madonna of the Rocks, but his true fascination lied in the human anatomy. Truly revolutionary for his time, da Vinci spent time observing the human body, dead and alive. Therefore, it is no surprise that Da Vinci’s sketches are still captivating artists to this day. Da Vinci employed specific symbolism within the hand gestures in his paintings, symbolism which have been easily understood in the 15^th Century. This particular silverpoint collection of sketches shows the same female hand and it’s many gestures. He studies how the slightest turning of the hand can change the meaning of the motion. The grace that he gives to the subject truly reflects on his skill as an artist.

Leonardo da Vinci, silverpoint

The final sketch was completed in the 16^th century in the style of Raphael. The sketch is done in pencil captures two simple gestures. In the upper left-hand corner two hands appear to be folded inwards, possibly towards a chest and in the center two hands of the same figure are being held out, almost as though the figure has raised them in either blessing or is about to put both down. The shading of the piece is done in horizontal lines and the foreshortening is truly amazing for a study.