Pen And Ink Drawings: History, Types - Visual Arts Cork

Pen and Ink Drawings

In fine art, the term 'pen and ink' denotes a drawing technique involving the use of black and other coloured inks which are applied to a support (generally paper) with either a dip pen or a reservoir pen. This traditional, versatile media has been used by Western artists since ancient-Egyptian times, for sketches, finished drawings or ink and wash paintings. It is also one of the main mediums involved in book illustration (see, for instance, Aubrey Beardsley) and in Surrealist automatic drawing (for details, see: Automatism in Art).

Early History

Artists from several ancient cultures used ink in their fine art drawings. One of the earliest surviving images in Greek art, drawn in pen and dye (on papyrus), is The Abduction of Briseis (c.300 CE) by an unknown Greek artist (Bayerische Staatsbibliothek, Munich).

However,the medium was developed to a high degree in Chinese art during the era of Tang Dynasty arts (618-906) and Song Dynasty arts (960-1279), and thereafter in Japan during the Muromachi period (1338-1573). (See Chinese painters.) Indeed, pen and ink has always been the main medium of Asian art and calligraphy in China, Japan and Korea. Traditional Chinese painting is executed with an animal hair brush dipped in black or colored ink. Oils are not generally used. Work in pure outline was called 'pai-miao', ink applied in splashes 'p'o-mo'. The most popular type of support is paper or silk, but some paintings were executed on walls or lacquerware. Completed artwork was often mounted on scrolls, which were hung or rolled up. For a guide to the aesthetics underpinning Oriental fine art drawing and writing (calligraphy), see: Traditional Chinese Art: Characteristics.