Paris
From Desmond Freeman: Paris - Impressions in Ink
The Louvre from the Tuillerie Gardens, Paris 2017
This book displays more than fifty pen and ink drawings - my impressions of Paris. These impressions have been gathered and documented since my first memorable visit to Paris in the early 1970’s. At the time I was a penniless student at the Royal College of Art in London and I was only able to afford such an extravagance by going everywhere on foot. This experience not only familiarized me with the layout of Paris, but required that I take the time – as an otherwise somewhat over enthusiastic flaneur - to really observe the Parisian attention to detail in its architecture, streetscape and particular way of life. I have since returned many times over the last almost fifty years and have found my enthusiasm for this most elegant of cities entirely undiminished. It was natural then that Paris should follow Venice in my planned series of books of drawings depicting my interpretation of the architecture of great European cities.
Paris demands a great deal of its admirers. It is physically exhausting as one is lured through sprawling parks, squares and gardens, along impossibly wide boulevards and through tangles of streets and tight lanes many of which are bounded by medium rise apartment buildings of a very distinctive character. It seems the legacy of Baron Haussmann is everywhere, dominated by the fine apartment blocks in creamy, Lutetian limestone modeled on those in the Rue de Rivoli. Haussmann’s influence inevitably permeates my selection of subjects in this collection of drawings such as the Opéra Garnier, the Arc de Triomphe du Carousel at the Louvre, the remodeled Saint Chapelle and of course the Place du Trocadéro in the foreground of the aerial view including the Tour Eiffel. Most of medieval Paris was demolished to make way for Haussmann’s nineteenth century modernisation. Some, however remain, and I have included a drawing of the entry to one of our favourite locations, the ancient Hôtel de Cluny, once the town house of the abbots of Cluny and now the Musée de Cluny – musée national du moyen âge - incorporating the Thermes de Cluny ruins of Gallo-Roman thermal baths in the heart of the 5th arrondisement.
An even more exacting demand Paris made of me was to limit my selection to just fifty subjects from its seemingly endless offering - some famous, some incredibly beautiful, some everyday, yet each one distinctly Parisian - an impossible task. Our most recent visit involved several photo excursions, walking an estimated forty kilometres, which resulted in capturing some simple but irresistible studies such as the reflections on the façade of a market on the Boulevard de Magenta near the apartment, and a shot of Christine with our daughter, Penelope and granddaughter, Vivienne at the entrance to the Galerie Vivienne.
Riverside Apartments, Paris, 2017
I am often asked if I sketch and draw the subjects of my pictures on site. My style demands greater attention to detail than I could possibly capture other than by reference to photographs. Some shots are my own, others are from a wide range of reference materials I gather on each city including the aerial shots from which I have produced pictures such as the Trocadéro and the Eiffel Tower panorama, the Opéra Garnier diptych and the Tour Eiffel and Invalides. Since the construction of the Centre Georges Pomidou in the 1970’s Paris has become renowned for fine contemporary architecture. In addition to the obvious Centre Pomidou I have included a picture of one of our favourite museums, the Jean Nouvel Institut du Monde Arab on the Rue des Foscés Saint Bernard.
My drawing style has evolved over many years of design practice in which I found it extremely useful to be able to produce quick sketches of buildings or interiors. Only once I had started to produce the Venice drawings for the first book in this series did I consolidate all that experience into something like a consistent, personal artistic style with some integrity. The Paris drawings have demanded even greater attention to detail than those I prepared for Venice. The predominantly Gothic features of many Venetian buildings have thus given way to the romance of 18th century French architecture and its evolution into the very particular 19th century fantasy of much of what we see in Paris today. Apart from the individual buildings, Paris offers a refined urban environment with unique attention to the creation of superb public spaces and vistas, and unmatched civic lighting, which are a delight to the artist’s eye.
Opéra Garnier, Paris, 2017
I find that I never tire of the detail - the more complex the better - and have developed a methodology for dealing with the daunting task of undertaking a drawing like the Opéra Garnier diptych (1660 x 1500mm) – an aerial view of the opera house and its immediate environs from the rear. The setout and the perspective are drawn in pencil always ensuring that the vertical lines are indeed vertical. I find it more satisfying to keep the pencil work to a minimum and generally cannot wait to start the ink line work using a very fine 0.1 sepia ink pen on archival Arches 300gsm acid free paper. Freehand drawing within the strictures of the line work is very gratifying to me, and so I move from one complex of buildings to the next, completing every window and door, roof tile, dormer and surface decoration. The original sepia drawing is sometimes then coloured directly or scanned to produce a linework print that can then be coloured. The print is produced on archival acid free paper ready for the colour. My technique requires the use of the highest quality of ink applied by pen or brush, sometimes with up to six or eight layers to achieve the required tone. Additional fine line work is often required over the coloured ink with white highlights often almost the last effect. The use of shadows is integral in my style and understandably adds required depth and often drama to the picture. The drawings cannot be rushed and some, such as the Opéra Garnier diptych can take more than 250 hours to complete. The final coloured work is then scanned and a digital record kept for the production - if required - of a limited series of signed, archival pigment prints.
This book, as was the Venice book, is enriched by the inclusion of quotations and poetry brilliantly selected by Christine Freeman. Christine’s contribution to the book and to the collection of drawings takes many forms and is thoughtful, patient, and always generous. We have enjoyed Paris together many times and always succeed in finding new aspects of the city to explore.
Independently published, the Venice book was fortunate to be awarded the Gold Medal for Fine Art books, and our son Nicholas represented me at the 21st Independent Publisher Annual Book Awards 2017 ceremony in New York. Winning this prestigious award encouraged me to seek a publisher for my second book, and possibly the remaining three books in the series. Images Publishing in Melbourne, Australia were keen to be involved and my thanks go to Paul Latham, Joe Boschetti, Gina Tsarouhas and Nicole Boehringer for their enthusiasm and support throughout the development of the Paris book.
Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris, 2017
Our sincere thanks also go to our friends, Professor Ron Newman and his wife Marianne for so generously offering us the use of their apartment in Paris for research visits.
Thomas Eberhart Freeman, our son-in-law, has cheerfully applied his substantial skills to introducing my work to a wider audience, and I remain truly grateful to his and our daughter Penelope’s – as well as Nicholas’s – constructive, caring and unreserved support.
It is difficult to express adequately my debt of thanks to the many dear friends and family members, both near and far-flung, and too numerous to list here, who gave me the confidence and wherewithal to continue to pursue my passion and realise this next book in the series.
On to Rome!