Bulletin du Musée National de Varsovie: [inkl. Index 1975-1997] (38.1997)

approximately every 27-30 mm can be seen on each of the loose sheets of
paper. Furthermore, fragments of the same watermark featuring the city of
Brzeg (Brieg) coat of arms, noted in Legnica (Liegnitz) in 1598 are present on
seven of the drawings.16 Ten of the works bare inscriptions done by the same
hand, the content of which leads us to believe that they are an integral part of
the work itself. Heidenreich used paper of similar dimensions (or a multiple
thereof) with the same chain line configuration1 for his signed works. Lastly,
the writing character of Heidenreich’s authentic signatures and authorial
inscriptions is, as already mentioned,16 identical to that found on the sketches.

All of the pieces belonging to the Heidenreich collection are sketches
featuring either cursory renderings of the visual concept portrayed or studies
of individual figures. The artist usually started work on an individual piece by
making an initial charcoal sketch of the subject matter. This technique, using
corrections, provided a schematic outline of the contours as well as the
elementary set-up of light and shadow. This initial sketch is missing only in
several of the pieces that feature figures on a very small scale (cat. no. 1 and 5).
In these cases, Heidenreich started by sketching out the figures using directly
ink and a brush. After the initial charcoal sketch, he continued the work in
ink. This change in technique at the later stage of the drawing allowed the
artist to introduce general corrections to the emerging piece. In some cases,
the ink drawing differs quite significantly from the charcoal sketch underneath
(cat. no. 4). In general, however, the application of ink was supposed to perfect
the initial charcoal sketch. Using wide brushstrokes, the artist strengthened
contour lines and by applying a wash, he built up the volume of the figures
and objects he was trying to portray. Following this he used the fine line of
a pen to fill in the details. At this stage, he also sometimes deepened the
shadows and perfected the sharpness of the contour lines. The particular stages
of the artist’s work are perfectly illustrated in the unfinished drawing
of a young woman sitting (cat. no. 4). Here, after the initial charcoal sketch,
Heidenreich introduced notable changes using ink and brush. Then, after
several test strokes with the pen on the side of the sketch, he abandoned the
drawing, probably deeming it a failure. This characteristic creative process has
been associated with the majority of Heidenreich’s talked about works. It is
only in the case of drawings that, one can guess, were done to serve as examples
of parts of the human figure that the need for greater precision made the artist
abandon his wide brushstrokes. In these cases, the initial charcoal sketch was
directly perfected by the precise lines of the pen, which were the basis of
further rendering of the subject (cat. no. 16).

date. Proof of this is the figure cut in half on the reverse side of the drawing.

16 Briquet, no. 960; Bock 1921, no. 7488 and Kozak 1995, p. 38.

1 Oszczanowski/Gromadzki 1995, nos. 274-281. Drawings entitled Justice and Peace (Justitia
et Pax), (Staatsgalerie, Stuttgart) and Nude Male (Israelite? Laokoon?) Battling the Snakes
(Kunsthalle, Bremen) were done on paper with the chain lines spaced at 27-29 mm.

18 Kozak 1995, p. 37.

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