Travelogue: New York (part 1)
An afternoon at the Met / drawing inspiration from history
I started this Substack so that readers could connect with most of my posts without needing to pay, and I’m thrilled that it’s reached so many more people than my Patreon did. Paid support of the Substack allows me to do more of what I love most - making art and sharing my discoveries. Subscribers at the Founding level are sent a little painting of a Positive Affirmation Dog:
Thanks for your continued support! Onto the travelogue.
This travelogue will probably be split into twoooo parts? I’m uncertain! But I do know that today I am just gonna talk about my afternoon at the Met Museum, which is high on my list of “places I can’t believe are real that we can just go to.”
The first time I went to the Met last summer was specifically so I could devise and pitch this comic to the New Yorker.
The featured exhibit at the time was Van Gogh’s Cypresses:
This time around, it was a collection of objects that inspired Edward C. Moore in his role as the creative director of Tiffany & Co in the late 19th century. Sounded interesting! I was definitely not expecting to do gesture drawings of silverware for two hours, but that is what happened.
^ I decided that this is CANONICALLY the pitcher that Lavender dumps the newt into in “Matilda.”
I know how to draw *most things* on command simply because i’ve drawn most things a thousand times. But I realize that I’ve never drawn a jug like this before? and yet, seeing it triggered this intense formative memory of Lavender dumping the newt into the jug. So I figured two hours of my life spent drawing some things I’ve never drawn before was a good use of my time - beyond getting to spend a longer time with the exhibit, maybe some of this will file away into my subconscious and enrich future illustrations.
It really was amazing to behold the drama and intricacy of this craft, and the exhibit was so well organized to display the parallels between the silver and the objects that inspired them. Other favourite little things:
This little Japanese ceramic vessel covered in a procession of grasshoppers carrying a palanquin… i just ………. aaaahhh.
sidebar: how did Edward C. Moore come to be in possession of so many thousands of these cultural artifacts? Hope it was all completely above board! <3
I still had some time after leaving this exhibit and was faced with the intense, unimaginable luxury of getting to REVISIT some of my favourite paintings from last time. Seriously, the fact that seeing these works of art is more than just a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity is a privilege I will never take for granted.
I found myself really drawn to the Degas ballerinas this time around, in a way that I wasn’t last time, and spent a long time copying them to get a feeling for the composition of the scenes and the positioning of the bodies. There’s so much movement and drama -
… which to me is the hardest thing to convey. It’s why I find the Bernini sculptures so arresting - the ability to capture movement in solid marble.
Anyway, I was reminded of Sempe’s ballet illustrations, and their masterful composition and movement:
and I wonder if he was inspired by Degas too?
I’ve drawn cartoons of paintings for years for fun, but it somehow just clicked that I can get a feel for how bodies can move and how crowds can come alive within a frame, by copying the work of masters and folding it into my own work. I only learn how to draw things by drawing them a thousand times and this is probably the same.
On the way out, I saw this beautiful painting I’d somehow never seen before. What a thrill.
Painting on the steps - crisp, chilly, perfect autumn day.
I left feeling very cradled by history and with this sense of renewed confidence that solutions and inspiration are discoverable everywhere.
More to come soon!
xo Zoe
Yes! I know that special feeling when having the opportunity and privilege to see our favourite works again!! Degas is so much better in person than in print!
Love love love your travelogues! ❤️