Regatta on the Grand Canal 1912

Muirhead Bone created this drawing of a regatta on the Grand Canal, probably on site, and en plein air. I’m thinking about him there, how he’s trying to capture the energy of the scene with a simple pencil. Can you feel that sense of immediacy? It’s like a snapshot, but drawn by hand! I bet he was battling the wind and the sun to capture the detail in the architectural features and the excitement of the boats as they jostled on the water. The line is kind of tentative, like he’s feeling his way through the chaos. He’s working hard to get the detail of the building just right. Then, he’s simplified all the people into a scribble, and he's focused on the bobbing boats and the ornate details of the gondolas. I’d say he's an artist deeply immersed in the act of observing and documenting the world around him. I love that kind of dedication, don’t you?