final drawing copy of Menzel's Head of Bearded Man

Here is the result after day 2. Now after an entire day away from the drawing, the values of the entire form of the cheek from the nose/corner of the eye to the beard is quite off. I didn’t notice this during the session. This is a good lesson in taking breaks!

I hope to run into more of Adolf Menzel’s drawings – graphite, pen and ink, anything. Menzel was self-taught and did not attend an academy. He has excellent knowledge of perspective, linework and anatomy as well as a wonderful sense of form. He, too, was a painter and illustrator like Mucha. Both did etchings and woodcuts — excellent draughtsmen.

Copy of Menzel drawing, Head of Bearded Man, graphite

Here’s a new copy I’m working on from another visit to the Metropolitan Museum of Art. It is a copy of a beautiful drawing by Adolf Menzel, in graphite. I’m going back for a second session since I didn’t have time to finish. I spent a lot of time just admiring Menzel’s handwork. Here’s a shot of what I have so far after the first session.