Mouse c. 1937

Giacinto Capelli drew this mouse sometime between the late 19th and early 20th century. It’s a pencil drawing and so finely rendered that it almost looks like a glass sculpture! The body and legs of the mouse are almost translucent. The mouse is sleek and stylized and has a certain cartoonish quality to it, reminiscent of early animations. It is hard to say if Capelli was working from life, memory, or imagination. I find myself wondering what it would be like to draw this animal. Would I focus on outline or volume? What kind of a line would I use? Would I give the creature a personality or try to be strictly objective? I get the impression that Capelli was interested in something other than precise anatomical accuracy. Instead, he captured a sense of the mouse as a sleek form in motion. What if I made a painting of this mouse today, how would that differ? Artists are constantly building on each other's work.