
Anne Desmet RA in her studio in east London.
Photo © Eamonn McCabe
Anne Desmet RA
9 works | 11:26 minutes
Anne Desmet was elected a Royal Academician in 2011. She is an experienced printmaking tutor and was editor of Printmaking Today from 1998-2013.
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Cast of Belvedere Torso
Part of the RA CollectionPlaster cast, early 19th century. 1270 mm x 780 mm x 900 mm. © Photo: Royal Academy of Arts, London. Photographer: Paul Highnam.
This is such a wonderful, rich piece of sculpture; the musculature on the torso and on the back is astounding.
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1. A cast of Apollonius' Belvedere Torso
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British Museum, Cast of slab of riders from North frieze of Parthenon (figures 122-124, Slab XLIV =Michaelis XXXIX).
Part of the RA CollectionPlaster cast, 19th century. 1030 mm x 1230 mm x 70 mm. © Photo: Royal Academy of Arts, London. Photographer: Paul Highnam.
British Museum
Cast of slab of riders from North frieze of Parthenon (figures 122-124, Slab XLIV =Michaelis XXXIX)
These casts are a wonderful resource for students and for artists like me, that like to draw a bit of classical statuary from time to time.
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2. Casts of the Parthenon marbles
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Albrecht Dürer, The Four Horsemen, 1511.
Part of the RA CollectionWoodcut. 390 mm x 280 mm. © Photo: Royal Academy of Arts, London.
Albrecht Dürer
The Four Horsemen , 1511
Dürer was the first rock-star artist and prints like this are what spread his fame throughout Europe... his are supremely amazing.
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3. Albrecht Dürer's Four Horsemen
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Hans Burgkmair the elder, Lovers Surprised by Death, 1510.
Part of the RA CollectionChiaroscuro woodcut. 213 mm x 154 mm. © Photo: Royal Academy of Arts, London.
Hans Burgkmair the elder
Lovers Surprised by Death , 1510
This is arguably the first true chiaroscuro woodcut ever made. It’s very small, intensely detailed, very atmospheric and tells a rather grim story.
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4. Hans Burgkmair's Lovers Surprised by Death
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Jan van der Heyden the elder, The fire at a patisserie on the Lauriergracht in Amsterdam, 29 December 1669.
Part of the RA CollectionEtching. 317 mm x 221 mm. © Photo: Royal Academy of Arts, London.
Jan van der Heyden the elder
The fire at a patisserie on the Lauriergracht in Amsterdam, 29 December 1669
These etchings are period pieces, but they have a beautiful quality of light and action and movement.
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5. Jan van der Heyden's etching of a fire
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Giovanni Battista Piranesi, The Smoking Fire, early 1770s.
Part of the RA CollectionEtching with engraving. 538 mm x 399 mm. © Photo: Royal Academy of Arts, London. Photographer: Prudence Cuming Associates Limited.
Giovanni Battista Piranesi
The Smoking Fire , early 1770s
The architecture in this etching looks extremely Italian, but it’s an entirely invented composition, a completely wonderful thing that’s inspired me to make invented architectural pieces of my own.
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6. Giovanni Battista Piranesi's print of a fire
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William Blake, The Blighted Corn, 1821.
Part of the RA CollectionWood-engraving and letterpress. 34 mm x 74 mm. © Photo: Royal Academy of Arts, London.
William Blake
The Blighted Corn , 1821
This wood-engraving is not technically perfectly cut, in some ways perhaps it’s quite roughly cut, but it’s a very atmospheric little piece.
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7. William Blake's The Blighted Corn
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Sir Frank Short RA, Windmill, August 1916.
Part of the RA Collectionpencil on paper. 176 mm x 257 mm. © Photo: Royal Academy of Arts, London.
Sir Frank Short RA
Windmill , August 1916
The body of the windmill and the landscape it’s set in are just suggested by a few lines, but every line is absolutely in the right place and describing something perfectly.
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8. Frank Short's drawing of a windmill
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Dame Laura Knight RA, Ella Naper in the Apple Orchard at Trewoolfe, c.1916.
Part of the RA Collectionpencil on wove paper. 285 mm x 198 mm. © Photo: Royal Academy of Arts, London.
Dame Laura Knight RA
There’s a great energy in this drawing. Every line has a purpose, she’s fully understood the figure, the weight of that figure in the tree and the movement of the legs.
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9. Laura Knight's study of a model
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Enjoyed this?
Watch Anne Desmet make a wood engraving
Anne Desmet RA demonstrates each step in creating a wood engraving, from tracing the original drawing through to printing a first proof.
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