The Drawings of Peter Lanyon

by Margaret Garlake

Peter Lanyon stood at the forefront of landscape painting in Europe during the late 1950s and early 1960s. A prominent St. Ives artist, he was associated with Barbara Hepworth, Ben Nicholson and Naum his work also has affinities with Abstract Expressionism. Lanyon's career started just as the study of drawing was being liberated from nineteenth-century academic constrictions. His many drawings range from records of trips to the Netherlands and Italy to portrait sketches and abstract studies. Lanyon also used drawings extensively in the development of some of his most important paintings. In this substantial and original study, Margaret Garlake explores Lanyon's theory and practice of the contribution of drawings to the evocation of place in paintings; his use of models and the metamorphosis of the human body into landscape images, as well as his use of three-dimensional constructions as equivalents to drawing.

Genres: Art

118 pages, Hardcover

First published December 1, 2003

Reviews

[Kevin Tole · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great content. Great to see the importance of Drawing to Lanyon's painting A little too much arty bollocks at times in the world of the art historian (as per usual) but still a 5-star rating. And actually Margaret Garland is fairly low on high-octane arty bollocks staying more within the realm of non-practitoner-speak-trying to explain practitioner. This book really is an insight into Lanyon's work and into the act of drawing in itself. I particularly like this quote from the end of the book.

"Yet while oil paint forms an inpermeable surface that rejects scrutiny, drawing is an act of revelation; the drawing itself responds to examination, invites investigation and questionning; it is where the marks of the hand allow an insight, however partial and imperfect, into the mind that directed the hand.

[Rebecca · Rating 3 out of 5]

The writing was a little dry for me but I gleaned information that feels useful and by skim reading I was able, in a sense, to glide through the book less hampered by the weight of the ground.