Lily Cheuk "Blake Sir Isaac Newton" 1795

1) INTRODUCE THE DRAWING IN GENERAL TERMS 

•What is the title of the drawing?
The title of this drawing is "Sir Issac Newton".

•What is the name of the artist?
The name of the artist is William Blake.

•What is the year the drawing was done?
This drawing was done in 1795.

•What is the medium? (ie the materials used to produce the picture, for example charcoal on paper, pen and ink etc) 
It was a monotype which used colour print with pen, ink and water colour. 

•What is the subject matter or general theme of the work? (eg is it a figure drawing, a map, a portrait, an autobiographical work, a picture about nature, a drawing of the city etc?)
It is a figure drawing which portrays naked Isaac Newton sitting  on a rocky outcropping covered with algae, apparently at the bottom of the sea because we can see the sea animals in the painting.

•Does the drawing have a particular purpose? eg Is it a diagram that explains how something works? Does it record accurately record the appearance of something? Does it express the artist's emotion or memory?
This work shows the artist 's concern about the scientific method.It is 
because the man in the picture using the triangle for measurement.


2) DESCRIBE THE DRAWING IN DETAIL

•How is line used? What does it do/express? 
The lines of the sea-flowers indicates they are floating and these shows the background is under the sea.
And the uneven distribution of lines on the rocks also shows the uneven distribution of algae.

•How is tone used? What does it do/express? 
The tone is not only dark, but also have the light tone. The tone of Issac Newton's body is quite light. It is the main point that the artist wanted to focus. And it guides the viewers to find the direction of this picture.

•What can you say about shape and/or form in this picture? What is the effect? 

The lines show us the texture. Without these lines, we cannot recognise there is a rock and sea-flowers. Also, the dark colour used to outline Isaac's body muscle, which makes/express Isaac is a three-dimensional object in the painting. Moreover, the lines in dark colour on the cloth also show its three-dimensional. 

•Is texture a feature of the drawing? 
Yes, it shows the muscle lines of Isaac Newton, the texture of the rocks and also the stria of  the cloth.

•What can you say about the composition of the drawing? What is the effect of this type of composition on the overall drawing?
The picture is composed by three parts: The rock, Isaac and the darkest background. It seems Isaac is the connection between the rock and the dark sea. "Isaac" reduces the big colour contrast between the rock and sea. 

•Is rhythm important in this picture? If so, say more about it...
There is no rhythm in this picture because it is very stable.

•Is the picture balanced? Explain...
It is balance because the picture is cut into two balanced parts by Isaac Newton who is posited in the middle and it shows a stable triangle.

•Is perspective used in the picture? If so, describe the way that the illusion of three-dimensional space has been created.
Yes, it has perspective. We would firstly focus on Isaac Newton which is printed in lighter colour and placed in the middle. Through his eyes, we would be guided to the diagrams he draws with a compass upon a scroll.

•Is the picture harmonious? If so, in what way? 
I think it is quite harmonious because the overall colour tone is similar and three parts (rock, Isaac, sea) are equally divided. The nature and Isaac makes me feel stable and correctly placed.

•Are there any strong contrasts in the picture? Say more...
There is a strong contrast in the picture because of the tone. The overall tone in the picture is dark, however, the use of colour to print the main character, Isaac Newton, is lighter, so it make a contrast to the background and the rocks.

3) INTERPRETATION AND EVALUATION

•What is the mood of the drawing? Justify your answer using information from your responses above.
The mood of drawing is quite unpleasant because it is to express Blake's opposition to the appearance of science during Enlightenment period.The artist was facing the uprising of Enlightenment. In this time, scientists started to challenge the old "theory" and sought to explain things, including nature, in a rational way. All these new theory challenged old theory which follow religious perspective.This painting is an ironic to portrays Isaac Newton ( a great scientist)focus on his physic calculation and ignore the nature that made by God.

•What does the drawing express? Justify your answer using information from your responses above.
It expresses the artist believed that science was destroying the soul of man. He portrayed Sir Isaac Newton in a contorted position poring over his work and ignoring the surrounding things in nature.

•In your opinion, why is this work interesting/moving/ clever/ imaginative/thought-provoking/......?  Choose the adjective(s) that best fit(s) the work, and then justify your conclusions by referring to specific features and qualities of the drawing (including those you have discussed above).

I think the work is imaginative and inspiring. When I firstly see this drawing, I didn't recognise Isaac sits under the sea. However, I recognise there are sea-flowers on the rock. It is imaginative for William Blake to draw Isaac sitting beneath the sea. The artist wants to emphases science's rationality makes people ignore the nature beauty and the things around us, so it is quite thought-provoking for him to put Isaac in the nature but just concentrating on his work. I think it also reflects people always ignore the natural beauty around us as developed city's citizen.