Day 32 – Ionic Capital

Day 32 brings a change of scale, moving away from the whole temple to study an Ionic capital from the Erechtheion on the Acropolis in Athens. The Ionic order is lighter and more decorative than the sturdy Doric order explored yesterday, and is most easily recognised by its paired spiral volutes. The objective is to understand how the capital is constructed—the tapering column, broad horizontal members and two dominant spirals—before deciding which of its many carved details actually need to be drawn. I use my Pelikan Souverän M405 for the linework and an ArtGraf water-soluble graphite stick for the shadows, combining the pen’s searching lines with softer areas of tone to give the capital depth.

Verdict – The volutes are particularly successful: the repeated searching lines give them life, while the darker centres and shadows beneath the projecting ledges create convincing depth without making the capital feel diagrammatic. Much of the smaller decoration is suggested rather than fully described, although a few carefully placed accents would make some of those passages easier to understand, particularly on the less resolved left side. The upper horizontal member could also be a little more deliberate in its width and angle, but the proportions remain broadly convincing.
Score: 7/10.

This proves to be far more demanding than expected—rather like a particularly unpleasant mathematics examination—but I like it.