One of my favourite galleries in London - on one of the least well known - is the Wallace Collection just north of Oxford Street.
This is a permanent collection that incorporates some great paintings from the likes of Rembrandt, Van Dyck, Reubens and Titian, plus suits of armour and sculptures and ceramics from medieval times.
But the core of the collection is French, much if it dating from the days of Louis XIV, XV and XVI and Marie Antoinette, and bought in auctions that followed the French Revolution of 1789. This includes some furniture, porcelain, and a lot of paintings from the likes of Fragonard, Watteau and Boucher.
But the picture that drew my attention this time was quite a large portrait (which I think was by John Singer Sargent) of a man standing with his sword by his side. The gleaming steel of the sword's handle was really effective and realistic, so I approached the canvas to see how the effect had been achieved. Close up, the handle was merely some grey paint, topped with a splodge of white paint, and three thinner white stripes that looked as if they had been applied quite hastily.
And yet, stepping back again, the fabulous effect was restored.
The lesson for me (although I'm just on drawing at the moment) is to keep the "big picture" in mind and not get too caught up with reproducing every minute detail; a few strokes of a pencil or brush can be very effective in creating an illusion.
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