Tivoli 1922

Robert Austin created this cityscape, Tivoli, with delicate graphite lines, probably en plein air. I imagine him sitting there with his pad, squinting in the Italian sun. Those precise, almost hesitant strokes—you can see how the drawing of the church tower is so tentative. I wonder, what was he thinking? I like how he built up the image of the town, one line at a time. The buildings cascade down the cliff, so subtly shaded. The faint marks suggest not just the forms of the town, but a sense of light and air. It makes me think of the drawings of other British artists like Samuel Palmer, who were also drawn to the Italian landscape. The whole conversation of line, of trying to catch a place with just a few marks, that's something that keeps artists going. Each drawing builds on the last, echoes the past.