Blue Paper: Function in the Creation of Form

Blue paper serves as the middle tone, an ideal surface through which to capture the complexities of forms in space through the modulation of light and dark drawing implements like chalk, charcoal, and ink and wash. Through its inherent tonality, blue paper is a particularly efficient and effective means through which to render figures and figural compositions, which can serve to inform the colouristic details of paintings.
The comparatively large number of drawings on handmade blue paper that survive by artists working in sixteenth-century Venice and seventeenth-century Amsterdam demonstrate that the material was internationally recognized as an integral part of artistic practice. This lecture explores the origin of the use of blue paper and its function in the practice of drawing figure studies. Focusing on Venice and Amsterdam, the presentation will interweave works on paper from The Courtauld’s Drawings Gallery exhibition, Drawn to Blue: Artists’ Use of Blue Paper.
Alexa McCarthy Executive Director, Greater Des Moines Public Art Foundation, Des Moines, Iowa, obtained her PhD from the University of St Andrews in 2022. Her dissertation, ‘Carta azzurra / blauw papier: Drawing on blue paper in Italy and the Netherlands, ca. 1450-ca. 1660’ explores the origins and impetus behind the use of blue paper in the early modern period. McCarthy has held positions at The Leiden Collection, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and Christie’s. She has published on topics including Govert Flinck’s use of blue paper and the role of blue paper in the Venetian family workshop. She holds a BA from Bowdoin College and an MA from The Courtauld.
Organised by Dr. Ketty Gottardo, Martin Halusa Senior Curator of Drawings, The Courtauld.