Writing/Drawing/Color Author(s): Georges Roque and Caroline Weber Source: Yale French Studies, No.

84, Boundaries: Writing & Drawing (1994), pp. 43-62 Published by: Yale University Press Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/2930179 . Accessed: 27/10/2011 09:51
Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms & Conditions of Use, available at . http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact support@jstor.org.

Yale University Press is collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access to Yale French Studies.

http://www.jstor.org

GEORGES ROQUE

Color Writing/Drawing/
I wantyoung peoplestarting outin painting today to observe whatis beingdonebyhandwriting instructors; thesemenstart outby ofletters teaching theform whichtheAncients called"elements," and thenthey andfinally of teachthesyllables thecomposition words. May ourownpainting students follow thisrulein order to learnhow to paint... on Painting -Alberti, Treatise WhenI write theword"wine"in ink,theinkdoesnotplaythemain role;rather, it allowsfor thedurable inscription oftheidea ofwine. Thus inkfunctions to guarantee ofwine. us ofa permanent supply -Paul Klee,Theory Art ofModern

Insteadof adopting a head-onapproach to the relationship between and drawing-an approachwhich would inevitably include writing the all too commonplace consideration etymological ofgraphein-I will introduce in an effort to analyzetheintersecta third term, color, relationsof writing, and color.Such an aping,triangular drawing, proachseems particularly appropriate since the drawing/color relationship is also a well-known all pairing, witha historical significance its own. By introducing a thirdterminto these dualisticrelations and writing with respectto (colorwith respectto drawing/writing I hope to exposeand perhaps drawing/color), challengethe arbitrarinessandartificiality ofsuchbinary divisions andregroupings (text and and ... ). image,painting banal one whichinitially Let's start witha first configuration-a and writing mightseem a bit obvious.Generally speaking, drawing about alike appearto involvetheexclusionofcolor.Whenone thinks one thinksabout black pencil,charcoal, drawing, stump, graphitechildish not colors.' Coloredpencilsalwaysstrike one as somewhat
1. The case ofwatercolor somewhat andpastelis doubtless unusual;ifarthistothefact remains thatthey rianstendto associatethem withtheartofdrawing, scarcely look like drawing; in manycases,the common is muchmorethesupporting ground itself. material-paper-thanthedrawing ? 1994byYaleUniversity. & Drawing, YFS 84, Boundaries: ed.M. Reid, Writing

43

44

Yale French Studies

(butwhy?), justas a box ofwatercolorsalwaysseemssomewhat puerile, and both lack the seriousness, and obviouslythe blackness,of drawing. And so drawing is done, preferably, in black,in black on Whencethe commonground betweenthe white-just like writing. twomedia: theexclusionofcolor. Like drawing, blackand writing-at leastprinted writing-favors done by hand?Don't seems to exclude color. (But what of writing in blue,at leastas often in black? WhenI was as they write peoplewrite a student, the ball-point pen was forbidden-itwas said to corrupt youngsters' impressionable handwriting-andthe ink pen was reitwas reserved bluemoreoften thanblack.As for thecolorred, quired, in red,one "highcorrections. One underlines solelyfortheteacher's in blue orin black.The latter butone writes twoare lights"in yellow, not,however, interchangeable. Forall official correspondence, French etiquetterequiresthat one writeby hand-the typewriter and the blackinkis computer beingtoo "impersonal"-andin suchinstances, in blue,butI myself a must.I am notcertain towrite whyit is impolite thisrule, andfeelcompelled touse blackfor a considhaveinternalized erableportion ofmycorrespondence). I do notknow, Am I losingmyself in speciousconsiderations? trythiscolorlesskinship between and ingas I am to understand writing After withcolored drawing. all, one does nottendto write pencilsand ofcolors, use a variety unlessone is trying to venture intothedomain ofartand to givewriting a plastic dimension thatit does notusually it mustbe understood have.As for drawing withcoloredpencils, that such activity as drawing. it is an enterdoes not evenqualify Rather, as such: "I knowit's drawing, but prisethatalmostnegatesdrawing come on!" like one draws, in blackon white."C'est 'critnoirsur One writes, blanc -Robert [It'sall therein black and white],as the expression thatis clearly undeniable. There goes,designating something visible, is thusa certain or clarity ofthewritten and drawing visibility word, in terms ofclarity, thecontrast sharesthesequalities.Indeed, created is optimal.Chevreul by black letters on a whitepage or background studiesthisissue in his famoustreatise: De la loi du contraste simulin whichhe evaluates different tanedes couleurs(1839), possiblecomink and paper.As one might he binationsofcoloredprinter's expect, concludes thatthestandard combination ofblackinkonwhite is paper the mostsatisfying ofbothreadability and ease on the one, in terms he makesa distinction thesethings between eyes(andin determining

GEORGES

ROQUE

45

reading for short periods oftimeandreading for longperiods oftime).2 The preference forblack on whiteestablished by Chevreul finds further justification in a property whichhe attributes to color, andwhich is themostinteresting ofhisfindings: "a property invariable possessed degreesby colours,-viz.: that of leavingupon the organwhich has perceived themduring a certain timetheimpression oftheir respective complementaries." Such an impression, however, can only confuse thingsand make reading uncomfortable: "It is clear thatthe more durablethisimpression is, [all]otherthings beingequal, theless the organ will be disposedto receive distinctly newimpressions, for there mustnecessarily be superpositions ofdifferent as in themixed images, contrast, will tendto render theactual which,not beingcoincident, effect less marked thanit might otherwise be," (Chevreul, ?519, 126). as harmful to printed the very Thus, Chevreulpresents writing rolein anywork color-and it property whichplaysa central involving is withthisobservation in mindthata whole generation ofpainters will invokeChevreul's for or law.As we haveseen,thedemand clarity immediatelegibility, which color contradicts or compromises, is a trait havein common.Clarity whichdrawing andwriting howmust, be understood in two senses: theclarity ofdrawing and writing ever, whicharereadily from their andtheclardistinguishable background, ityofa lucidlyexpressed thought. Now ifthere is one aspectofdrawing andartists uponwhichcritics it is thatdrawing are constantly allowsfor theclearexpresinsisting, sion of thought. This conception sharedby thosewho is, moreover, defend de Piles,for statesthat coloragainstdrawing: Roger instance, l'on appelledessinla penseed'un tableau"3 drawingis thethought ofa painting"], and explainsthat"[le dessin]represente la penseede et quelquefois toutl'ouvrage avec les lumieres et les ombres, avec les couleursmemes,et pourlorsil n'estpas regarde commeune des par2. "Contrast of tone is the mostfavourable condition fordistinct vision,ifwe consider WhiteandBlackas thetwoextremes ofa scale comprehending thegradation from normal Grey: in fact, Blackletters upona White ground present themaximum of contrast oftone, andthereading is donein a perfectly distinct manner, without fatigue, ofwhatI advance." bydiffused daylight, affording theproof M.-E.Chevreul, ThePrinciples ofHarmony and Contrast ofColorsand Their Applications to theArts, ed. Faber Birren, newly revised edition (Westchester, PA:Schiffer Publishing, ?6, 125.Inour 1987), Chevreul's "contrast oftone"wouldactually be "contrast of contemporary terminology, de clarteJ. lightness" [contrasts 3. Rogerde Piles, Cours de peinture par principes (1708) (Nimes:EditionsJacquelineChambon, 1990),150.

46

Yale French Studies

ties de la peinture,mais comme l'idee du tableau que le peintre medite," (de Piles, 79) [drawing"representsthe thoughtupon which the workas a whole is based, with its lightand its shadows, and sometimes with its verycolors. Forthatreason,drawingis not held to be one ofthe painting's components, but rather the idea of the painting that the artisthas in his mind."] Obviously,this statementassumes thatdrawing provides not only the sketch of a painting,but also the painting's veryessence; that drawing-not color-gives paintingits great,forceful,over-arching lines. One mighteven go so faras to say thatdrawing, according to this definition,encompasses all aspects of a painting, including its color. A drawing done in black, with its clear vision of the "idea of a painting" also relies on the complicitybetween the idea and the hand or and between the hand and its tracings.Such a notion also reinforces overdeterminesthe relationship between drawing and writing,as if there were some kind of correspondence between the hand and the mind, or, as de Piles writes, between "le caractere de la main" [the hand's character]and "le caracterede l'esprit" [the mind's character]: On connailt de qui est un Tableaucommevous connaissezde qui est une Lettre d'unepersonne que vous recevez qui vousa d6ja6crit connaitre ces sortes de plusieurs fois.Et il y a deuxchosesqui font lettres, le caractere de la main,et celui de l'esprit.-Il est vrai, l'on jugesouvent une lettre, de interrompit Damon, que sans ouvrir commevousjugezdes qui elle estparle dessus.-C'est justement Tableaux,ditPamphilie.4 You knowwho has donea Painting justas youknowwho has from someonewho has already written written a Letter youreceive thatenableyouto to you several are twothings times.Andthere thecharacter ofthehand,and that knowor to recognize suchletters: ofthemind.-It is true, a interrupted Damon,thatwithout opening who sentit bytheoutside.-That is letter, one often determines said Pamphile. how one judgesPaintings, exactly And de Piles adds that the hand's character"n'est autre chose qu'une ses lettres,et le habitude toute singuliereque chacun prendde former caracterede l'esprit est le style du discours, et le tourque l'on donne a ses pensees" [is simply a unique and individualized habit thatdictates how people formtheirletters,and the mind's characteris the discur4. Roger Conversation citedbyBernard de Piles,Premiere Teyssedre, Roger (1676), de Piles etles debatssurle colors au sieclede LouisXIV (Paris: Bibliotheque desArts, n. 3, 250. 1957),

GEORGES

ROQUE

47

sive style, the turn of a phrase that people use in expressing their thoughts.] There is thus a sortoftruthofthe hand, which neverlies and which reveals the state of mind of the person who is writingor tracing5-a truthof the hand which drawing and writinghave in common. This privilegedrelationshipbetween drawingand the hand helps to explain the frequency with which the medium is compared to writing. Matisse, forexample, speaks ofthe exhaustingworkhe does in orderto let himself be penetratedby his model's essence or character,by the model's human expressivenessand by "all that can only be expressed by drawing." Only aftermaking such an effort is he able to take up the pen with some measure of confidence: "J'ai alors le sentiment evident" [I now get the distinct feeling],"he continues." de l'6criture que mon 6motion s'exprime parle moyen plastique. Aussitotque mon trait emu a model6la lumiere de ma feuille blanche, sans en enlever sa qualit6de blancheur attendrissante, je ne ni rienen reprendre. La pageest 6crite; puis plus rienlui ajouter, aucune correction n'estpossible.6 As thatmyemotionexpresses itself bymeansofa plasticwriting. soon as thezealous stroke ofmypenhas shapedthelightofmy whitepage,without tender taking awaythelatter's whiteness, there is nothing The pagehas beenwritten; moreI can add or takeaway. no further is possible. correction And so we have a toned down analogy with writing,ifwe take into consideration, as Matisse invites us to do, the whiteness of the background(which has become [a] common place),and theunwillingnessto repent ("the page has been written"). There thus emerges a sort of ethics of drawing,which forbidsthe use of an eraser,and which re5. This idea resurfaces in thewritings ofJean Dubuffet, L'Hommedu commun a

l'ouvrage (Paris:Gallimard, 36-37: "Respecter les impulsions, les spontaneites 1973),

ancestrales de la mainhumainequandelle traceses signes.Parexemple une certaine verticalite lgerement qui estde 1'ecriture etde touttrace penchee humain perpetre avec application, en tirant un peu de langue... Plus la main de l'artistesera dans tout l'ouvrage apparente et plus emouvante, plus humain, plusparlant il sera.Fuirtousles modesmecaniqueset impersonnels. Les typographies et calligraphies les plus appliqueesontmoinsd'attrait que quelquesmotsmanuscrits maistraces sansintentions par unemainloyale. On doitsentir l'homme etles faiblesses etles maladresses de l'homme danstousles detailsdu tableau... Ainsidansl'ecriture manuscrite la barre d'un t, le le troisieme pointd'uni, se trouvent deportes, jambaged'unm portela marqued'un ou de lassitude." mouvement d'impatience 6. Henri Matisse,Ecritset propossur Part, ed. D. Fourcade(Paris:Hermann, 1972),160.

48

Yale French Studies

quires drawing to show everything without dissimulation, without cheating, without trickery. This notion recalls Ingres's famous, oftquoted assertion that "le dessin est la probitede Part" [drawingis the probityof art]. This ethical dimension places drawingand writingin opposition to color, which is conceived of as unstable, immoral, and deceptive. For instance, it seems significantthatwhen the authorofan artanthology introduces the subject of color, he definesit in contrastto its age-old rival: "'Le dessin est la probitede l'art.' La couleur en est le charmeet la comme d'une sirene"7 seduction-une personne sage doit s'en mefier, [Drawing is the probityofart.Color is art'scharmand its seduction-a siren ofwhom the prudentperson should beware].In the faceofcolor's the probityofdrawseductiveness, a concept to which we will return, of of all that they both the and ing is affirmed, as is probity writing reveal.8Thus, a certaintruthofthe pen strokewould stand to reinforce the analogy between writingand drawing. The truthofthe pen strokethatmanifestsitselfin drawinghas long been construedas fidelity to the idea which drawingaims to expressas if there were a perfectequivalence between drawingand the idea, of the hand. In addition to its fidelity, established by the intermediary obediance, and honesty,good drawingmust possess one othercharacteristic,common to all good servants: discretion. It is in referenceto this characteristic,in fact, that Rodin proposes yet another analogy between drawingand writing,and particularlyliterarystyle: Il en est du dessinen artcommedu styleen littdrature. Le stylequi se maniere, est mauvais.Il n'y qui se guindepourse faire remarquer, a de bon styleque celui qui se faitoublier surle pourconcentrer du sur l'6motion rendue l'attention lecteur. toute trait6, sujet la L'artiste qui faitparadede son dessin,l'6crivain qui veutattirer louangesurson styleressemblent a des soldatsqui se pavaneraient sous leuruniforme, mais refuseraient d'allera la bataille, ou biena des cultivateurs le soc de leurcharrue constamment qui fourbiraient le dansla terre. Le dessin, au lieu de l'enfoncer pourle faire briller, beauxsontceux qu'on ne pensememepas a louer, stylevraiment tanton est prisparl'int6ret de ce qu'ils expriment.9
L'Art la couleur (Paris: HenriLaurens, parles maitres: enseign6 7. HenriGuerlin,

n.d.), 1.

to thevolume:TheHand and theTrace:Some ofthecontributions 8. Cf.several 1990). 2, vol. 19 (Spring VisibleLanguage Issues in Handwriting, reunispar Paul Gsell (Paris: Gallimard, 9. AugusteRodin,L'Art.Entretiens 1967),78.

GEORGES

ROQUE

49

in artand for The same principle holdstruefordrawing stylein literature. Stylethatbearsthemarksofaffectation, thatputson airs in order to call attention to itself, is bad. Stylecan onlybe good insofar as it allows itself to be forgotten so thatthereader will focus on thework'ssubjectmatter and emotional content. The artist who showsoff withhis drawing and thewriter who seekspraisefor his in their style, are like soldiers who wouldparadearound uniform, butrefuse to go intobattle;they arelike farmers who constantly insteadofdigging polishtheir plow to makeit shinebrilliantly, it intotheground. Truly beautiful drawing and stylearethosewhich one does noteventhink to praise, so takenis one bywhatthey express. It would be banal to repeat the sayingthatstyleis above all a "poinan qon servanta ecrire[an engraver'spoint forwriting]-and therefore instrumentcommon to drawingand writing-were it not forRodin's agriculturalmetaphor that absolutely insists on such a comparison, with his emphasis on the plow's shinybrilliance (do we not speak of a writer's"brilliant" style?).As forthe militarymetaphor, it says exactly what it means: drawingand style alike are soldiers who should serve theirarmyratherthan "parade around." In clear contradistinctionto drawing,however,color is a bad soldier thatdoes parade around,showing off instead of being content to serve,seeking to show its own brilliance. Color, in otherwords, tends to express itself.10 Perhaps now we are beginningto sense the reason forthe longtime complicity between drawing and writing: both effacethemselves for the sake ofthatwhich theyseek to express,whereas color resistsbeing reduced to such a function. In this light, the artists' and critics' frequent analogies between drawing and writing can be seen to derive froma desire to emphasize drawing'sinstrumentalfunction:drawing as an instrumentof the hand whose tracingsare governedby the dicIt and trustworthy tates of the idea, drawingas a faithful intermediary. is as ifdrawing,like writing, has to be as discreetas possible, in orderto The signifiershould be transparent,so convey meaning effectively. that it in no way detractfromthe signified. This notion finds confirmation in the theories developed by Charles Blanc in the second thirdof the nineteenth century, particularly in his eloquently titled book, Grammaire des arts du dessin (1867). The analogy with alphabetical writing, and its attendant
a rare his time, Rodin's 10. Suchis not,however, onefor position-whichis in fact sincehe placescoloron thesame levelas drawing. At theendoftheabove-cited statefor he adds: "de mrmepourla couleur"[thesameholdstrue ment, color].

50

Yale French Studies

"grammatical" rules, becomes even more explicit in the introduction to Blanc's subsequent work, the Grammaire des arts decoratifs." Blanc's position is important and symptomatic because it figuresa whole classical tradition at the very moment when this tradition, which subordinated color to drawing, was being challenged by the Romantics, the Orientalists,and then the Impressionists,all ofwhom assign a central role to color. Charles Blanc's work thus constitutes a turning point ofsorts,and it is forthisreason thathis conception ofthe relationship between color and drawing deserves examination (such examination appears all the more important,in fact,when we realize that his thought influenced a considerable number of painters).'2 "Tout dessin," Blanc explains et parcela memeil est l'expression d'unepens6eou d'un sentiment, est charge de nous faire voirquelque chosede superieur a la verit6 aucun sentiment, aucune apparente, lorsquecelle-cine r6vele Elle est tantot le pens6e.Mais quelle est cettev6rit6 superieure? le caractere de l'objetdessine, tantot du dessinateur, caractere et, 13 dansle grand art,elle estjustement ce qu'on appellele style. All drawing and as such, is theexpression ofa thought ora feeling, its roleis to showus something superior to theapparent truth, no thought and no feeling. Butwhatis this whichoften reveals superior truth? Sometimes it is thecharacter ofthedrawn objet, In great sometimes thecharacter ofthepersondrawing. art, moreover, thissuperior truth is whatwe call style. According to Blanc, this definitionofdrawinggives us a clear indication ofits origins: "Le dessin est un projetde l'esprit,comme l'indique si bien l'orthographede nos peres qui ecrivaientdessein" (Blanc, ibid.) [Drawing is a design,plan or projectofthe mind,as we can see in the spelling ofour forefathers who wrote dessein] This goes back to the Renaissance conception ofdrawingas idea (thefamous designo) which we findin the writingsof Vasari: "This design is nothingbut a visual
11. CharlesBlanc,Grammaire des arts decoratifs, 2nd edition(Paris:1992),III. as the twenty-five "Just letters of the alphabethave been,and will continueto be, sufficient for theformation ofwords necessary toexpress all human thought, so tooa few elementssusceptible to multiplecombinations have been,and will continueto be, ofornaments." sufficient for thecreation ofan infinite number Blanc'sviewson color. 12. I havealready discussed other aspectsofCharles Cf., my " Art& Fact(Universit6 deLiege)10:(1991), 4ff.; "Portrait enfemme de la couleur fatale, 2 (1991), Artee sacrificio, 55 ff. and "Couleuret sacrifice," Athanor 13. CharlesBlanc,Grammaire des artsdu dessin,1stedition1867 (Paris:Henri Laurens, n.d.<1880>), 531.

GEORGES

ROQUE

51

expression andclarification ofthatconcept whichonehas in theintellect,and thatwhichone imaginesin the mindand buildsup in the idea."'4 In TheIdea in Painting, Sculpture, and Architecture, Zuccari makesthisdefinition ofdrawing evenmoreprecisebyelaborating on thenotionofan "inner design"(designo interno), whichhe too identifieswiththeidea.15 If CharlesBlanc'sconception ofdrawing thusremains marked by Renaissance andclassicalthought,16 we might nevertheless think that such a view has had its day, and thatit is no longer considered valid. However, thisis not the case. We can findthisvery same notion,for instance, in Matisse'swritings: "Dessiner, c'est preciser une idee. Le dessin est la precisionde la pensee. Par le dessin les sentiments et l'ame du peintre passentsans difficulte dans l'espritdu spectateur" ofan idea. (Matisse,n. 8, 162).[To drawis to givea preciserendering ofthought. thepainter's Drawingis theprecision Drawingtransmits feelings and soul directly intotheviewer's mind]. Evenmorerecently, conceptual arthas once againattempted to radicalizethisconception of drawing as the expression of an idea-a conceptwhich has profoundly influenced contemporary drawing andwhichconstitutes two ofits great trends.17 But one pointis striking in thisformulation of the relationship between Forin theabove-cited drawing andwriting. text("Drawing is a design, ofthemind, as we can see in thespelling ofour planorproject forefathers who wrotedessein"),CharlesBlanc legitimates thisconnotto theRenaissance, ceptionofdrawing byreferring butto etymol14. GiorgioVasari, Proemio ofthesecondedition of Le Vite. . ., 1568, citedbyErwin Panofsky, Idea: A Concept in ArtTheory (NewYork/London: Harper & Row, 62. 1968), 15. As Panofsky notes,"On Zuccari'sterminology it shouldbe remarked that, al. . . he heavily for though reproached Vasari usingtheterm 'idea' in thesenseof'imaginative ability' instead ofin thesenseof'imaginative content,' he himself uses theterm designo(= idea) in exactly thesame doublesignificance; he designated theprocessas well as theobjectoftheact of'designing' as designo," op. cit.,n. 30, 227. and painting 16. In Blanc's view,drawing encompassesarchitecture, sculpture, to painting): (whereas coloris onlynecessary "drawing is so essentialto each ofthese " op.cit., three arts thatthey areproperly termed thearts ofdrawing, 21. Blancthusstays toVasari, ofourthree an ideataken faithful for whomdrawing is "thefather arts," up by thisinscripLe Brunwho annexes architecture to theAcademy, andwho commissions tionfor M. F. theInstitute's pediment: "Ecolede dessin."On Blanc'sclassicaltastes, cf., Zimmermann, Les Mondesde Seurat: sonueuvre etles debatsartistiques de sontemps FondsMercator/Albin Michel,1991), 28ff. (Anvers/Paris: 17. Cf.,Daniel Dezeuze, "Elements a la question: de reponse pourquoi le dessin?" in Le Dessinpourquoi?, Actesdu colloquedel'Ecole d'artdeMarseille, published bythe Ecole d'artde Marseille-Luminy, 1991,39-40.

52

Yale French Studies

ogy. It is difficultnot to see in this referencea collusion between drawing and writing,especially since the author makes a similar attempt at etymological legitimation in the introductionto his book: Le motdessina deuxsignifications. Dessinerun objet,c'est le reprdsenter avec des traits, des clairset des ombres. Dessinerun un 6difice, un groupe, tableau, c'est y exprimer sa pens6e.Voila desseinet cetteorthographe pourquoinos peres6crivaient intelligente disaitclairement que toutdessinest un projet de
18 l'esprit.

The worddrawing has twomeanings. To drawan objectis to represent it withpen-strokes, patchesoflightand shadow. To drawa a group is to express scene,a building, one's thought through these wrotedessein,and this objects.That is whyourforefathers intelligent spelling madeit clearthatall drawing is a design, plan,or project ofthemind. More interestinglystill, Zuccari too invokes this "intelligent spelling" in order to justifythe Italian designo (a term which lies at the originof the French desseinldessin): forhim, etymologyjustifiesthe proposition that drawingis a sign ofdivine ressemblance: "designo = segno di dio in noi" (cited by Panofsky, 88) [designo - the sign of God in us]. Without gettinginto the etymological justification fora link between drawingand the idea, let us simplyaccept that this argument can help us to understandwhy color is excluded fromsuch a project; ideas, thoughts,or concepts would seem to be more "naturally"linked to drawing than to color. And this characteristicwould seem to bring both of them being charged writingand drawingeven closer together, with the expression of thought.To returnto Charles Blanc, we finda neat formulation of the problem in these terms: "Je suppose que le peintre etende sur sa toile le ton juste de la chair humaine: ce ton ne nous donnerapoint l'idee de l'homme, tandis qu'il nous suffira des plus grossiers contours pour nous rappeler cette idee" (Blanc, op. cit., 22) [Suppose that the artistpaints his canvas using theverycolor ofhuman flesh: this color will not give us the idea of a man, unless we have the crudestofcontours to remindus ofthis idea]. Color,unlike drawing,is
to des arts du dessin,op. cit.,22-23. According 18. CharlesBlanc,Grammaire theterms de la languefran!Paise, BlochandvonWartburg's Dictionnaire 6tymologique plan,project], basedon themodeloftheItalian dessin [drawing] and dessein[design, century. sincetheendoftheeighteenth designo, haveonlyhad their modemmeanings used thandessinfor bothmeanings. Before then, desseinwas morecommonly

GEORGES

ROQUE

53

patently incapable of expressingan idea. To develop this hypothesis further, Blanc proceeds to give the example ofthe black man, whom he presentsin black and white: "Tous les negressont noirs,comment les distinguerautrementque par la proportionde leur membres,la hauteur de leur taille ou les lignes de leurs demarche?" (ibid.)[All black men are black: how can you tell them apartifnot by the proportionof their limbs, by theirheight,by the lines of theirstride?].From this he concludes that "la natures'est donc serviedu dessin pour definir les objets, de la couleur pour les nuancer" [nature relies on drawing to define objects, and on color to nuance them]. And so we keep coming back to drawing's power to express an idea-a power which color does not possess. It is hardlysurprising, in this context,that Charles Blanc condemns color fornot submittingto an instrumental role, and that he exhorts it to remain a slave to drawing. Le coloriste avons-nous dit,invente passionn6, sa forme poursa couleur:rienn'estplus vrai.Tout,chez lui, est subordonn6 a l'eclat de la teinte. Non seulement le dessinflechit, doitflechir, mais la composition est commandee, genee,violentee, parla couleur. Pour ici une teinte amenager violette qui surexcitera telledraperie jaune, il faudra menager a cetteteinte un espace,inventer un accessoire, inutile.[Blanc, peut-etre op.cit., 573] The enthusiastic we havesaid,invents colorist, forms for his colors: nothing could be moretrue.The colorist subordinates everything to theradiance oftintsand hues. Colornotonlyrequires drawing's submission; it also commands, compromises, and does violenceto itself. In order to accommodate composition a violethue whichwill offset someyellowdrape- orother, it is often necessary to createa spacefor thishue,orinvent an unnecessary accessory for it. The odd tone adopted by Blanc in this passage can be explained, at least in part,by his historical context: the age ofOrientalism and ofan ever-increasingemphasis on the importance of color. According to Blanc, color is a force which must be reined in, for "en poursuivant avec passion le triomphe de la couleur, le peintre court le risque de sacrifierl'action au spectacle" [ifthe painter passionately strivesfor the triumphofcolor,he runs the riskofsacrificing action to spectacle.] And here, of course, we are back to the parade evoked by Rodin. Based on these arguments, we mightpropose the followinghypothesis for the second half of the nineteenth century, if not earlier: the

54

Yale French Studies

instrumentalfunctionofdrawing,and its potential autonomy,must be it is in an safeguardedagainst the threatposed by color. Furthermore, to which both drawing and effort to reinforcethis instrumentality, writingostensibly can be reduced, that the analogy between the two this time in an media develops. Whence Blanc's recourse to literature, almost pathetic peroration: inclinent De memeque les litt6ratures a leurdecadencequandles et imagesl'emportent surles idees,de memel'artse mat6rialise declineinfailliblement lorsquel'esprit qui dessineestvaincuparla au lieu sensationqui colore;lorsqu'enun motl'orchestre, d'accompagner le chant, devient a lui seul le poeme.[Blanc, 573] decadence whenimagestake Just as literature movestoward overideas,so mustartinevitably precedence beginto declineonce thatcolors;once themindthatdrawsis conquered bythesensation thesong,itself becomesthe theorchestra, insteadofaccompanying poem. Such considerations undoubtedlyshed some lighton the exact natureofcolor's "immorality,"which consists both in a refusalto submit to discipline and to drawing,and in a willfulattemptto be seductive on its own terms. For color is faulted with becoming a sign of nothing otherthan itself,whereas drawingremains the sign of somethingelse (be it an object, a thought, or anything else that moves the artist). Whence the ubiquitous allusions to and analogies with writing, which is held to be another instrumentalmode of thought,obediently submittingto that which it expresses. be deemed a bit flatand This provisional conclusion mightrightly uninspired,if its only thrustwere to affirm that drawingand writing are both signs. It might even be accused of neglecting Damisch's famous advice that the question ofwritingand ofthe sign be dissociated in any study of the relations between painting and writing.'9 To nuance thingssomewhat,however, the importantpoint to be made hereis that a certain conception ofpaintingwhich prevailedin the West ever since the Renaissance, depended, if not on the exclusion of color, at least on its vassalization or enslavement. In otherwords,it was necessaryto reduce color's potential autonomy,its refusalto become a sign, a vehicle or an intermediary forothermeanings,fromthe moment that
givenat theround tableon "La Peinture et l'dcriture 19. Hubert Damisch,lecture " reprinted 1'ceuvre etsa vocation interdisciplinaire: de 1'art dessignes, in La Sociologie Francastel Denoel/Gonthier, et 1'influence de Pierre (Paris: 1976),198.

GEORGES

ROQUE

55

it breaks free ofdrawing andis no longer padding, illumination. It is of courseon thesegrounds, and on thesegrounds alone,thattheanalogy to reinforce the role of with writing is put into place-it functions drawing. Suchwouldhavebeenthelotofcolor:nottobe uniqueandrare, but To setthings onceand to be subordinate orsubjecttodrawing. straight for all, CharlesBlancputsit bluntly, summing up an entire tradition: "Non, la couleurn'estpas plus rareque le dessin,mais elle joue dans l'artle rolefeminin, le roledu sentiment; soumiseau dessincommele sentiment doit etresoumis a la raison,elle y ajoute du charme, de l'expression et de la grace"(Blanc,23) [No, coloris no moreuniqueor rare thandrawing, buttheformer playsthefeminine roleinart, therole offeeling; todrawing shouldbe subject toreason, subject justas feeling color brings to the marriage its shareof charm, and expressiveness, grace]. In keeping withan age-olddivisionwhichis stillwidelyaccepted and ofwhichwe arenot evenentirely to conscious,coloris relegated therealmofemotion,sentiment-a positionwhichmakesit all the to thetradition an idea.According which moreincapableofexpressing Blancbothsummarizes and exacerbates, coloris feminine.20 The imattributed towoman, and ofcoloris thusalso theimmorality morality the same gendercodingapplies to its wiles, its persuasiveness, its coloris a mereornamentIn its relation deceptiveness. to drawing, addedto drawing as a typeofsupplebut also necessary, superfluous, ment. All of thesetraits, are also thosewhich,as Derridahas however, andsubsequent characterize shownin theGrammatology writworks, ingin its relationto speech(la parole).Such a realization necessarily abouta shifting ofalliances,ifit is indeedtruethatcolorshares brings commonground How is it possible,from thismoment withwriting! andwriting, between aimed on,to insistupona "complicity" drawing at keepingcolorin line?Perhaps at thispointit is necessary to introin order to obtainan equivalence ducea fourth term, speech(la parole), whichwouldlook like this:coloris to drawing as writing is to speech. Let's see ifthisnewformula standsup to analysis. itis byno meansdifficult in itsrelationIndeed, to showthatcolor, an ornament, which actsas a supplement, shipto drawing, something is added, and which plays the contradictory role of being simul20. Cf.my"Portrait de la couleuren femme fatale," in loc. cit.

56

Yale French Studies

taneously superfluousand necessary.The idea ofcolor as make-up,for example, dovetails quite nicely with Derridean analyses of writing.2' Besides, make-up, like color, is one of the definitions of the pharmakon.22 In most cases, then,color functionsto appear alongside and in opposition to drawing,like a supplement-it serves ratherto color in the outlines tracedby drawing,or else to enhance them. Obviously enough, this last term is of tremendous interestto us here. Drawing does not exclude color, but demands its subjection or subjugation; color is forcedto remain, in keeping with Ingres'sorders,the lady-inwaiting, the one in charge of costumes and makeup. In the formof wash or watercolor, forexample, color is clearlypresent,but as a typeof embellishment or enhancement. To enhance is to bringout, to bring up, to sublate [relever],"fard qui rehausse l'6clat du teint," Robert [make-upthatenhances one's skin-tone].It is ofcourse in a similarway that writingconstitutes the sublation [la releve] of speech. Furthermore,the privilege which speech enjoys as presence-toitself, and compared to which writing appears secondary or supplementary, recalls the privilegeaccorded to drawingas an apt expression of the idea, as the truthof the idea. This parallel is particularlyfitting given the fact that the voice has always enjoyed a special relationship with the idea. All one has to do is thinkof Charles Le Brun,presiding " (L. Venturi). over the Academy as its master,or ratheras its "dictator, When called upon to pronounce his verdict on the relationship between drawing and color, he plays skillfullyon the polysemy of the word "design" (dessein), insisting upon that "intelligent spelling" which Charles Blanc will later invoke once again: On doitsavoirqu'il y a deuxsortes de desseins, l'un qui est intellectuel ou theorique, et l'autrepratique. Que le premier depend de l'imagination, purement qu'il s'exprime pardes paroleset se dans toutesles productions repand de l'Esprit. Que le dessein est produit pratique et d6pend parl'intellectuel de parconsequent et de la main,il peutaussi s'exprimer l'imagination pardes paroles. C'est ce demierqui avec un crayon donnela forme et la proportion et les passionsde qui imitetoutesles chosesvisibles, jusqu'a exprimer l'ame,sans qu'il ait besoinpourcela de la Couleur, si ce n'estpour la rougeur representer et la paleur.23
21. For more on this topic,cf. the studyof make-upproposed by Jean-Claude "A BeautyParlour," Traverses Lebensztejn, #7,Le Maquillage (February 1977): 74 ff. 22. Cf.Jacques "La Pharmacie Derrida, de Platon,"La Diss6mination (Paris:Editionsde Minuit,1972). 23. CharlesLe Brun,addressto the Academy, 1672,citedby Bernard Teyssedre, Roger de Piles etles d6batssurle colorisau sicle de LouisXIV,op. cit.,n. 1, 178.

GEORGES

ROQUE

57

It is important to realizethatthere aretwotypes ofdesign, one whichis intellectual or theoretical, and one whichis practical. That thefirst one depends purely on theimagination, thatit is expressed in speechand thatit is manifest in all productions oftheMind.That thepractical designis produced bytheintellectual one and consequently depends on theimagination and on thehand.That the latter typeofdesigntoo can be expressed in speech.It is thissecond typewhich,withthehelpofa pencil,produces form and proportion, and whichimitates all visiblethings, to thepointofexpressing the very passionsofthesoul,without needing colorto do anyofthis, ofredness exceptfor therepresentation and pallor. This defense of drawingcontains a good number of the ideas we have already encountered. First of all, the semantic play on the word "design" establishes a connection between drawingand design while endowingit, bymeans ofa theory/practice opposition,with considerable breadth and legitimacy.Given Le Brun's intellectualization of drawing,it is clear thatthe medium indeed depends on thehand, but also on the imagination-just like design. From this it is possible to conclude that drawingand design alike are prone to being expressedin speech, with the latter functioningas the transparentinstrumentof the expression ofthought.But it is clearlyassured by the legitimationwhich states that drawing can take pride in its ability to imitate all visible things,without recourse to color; the latter,an ornament or supplement, added to drawingwithout necessity,is neverthelessindispensable forthe representationof redness.24Thus, Le Brun's textsums up much ofthe thoughtwe have alreadyexamined, but with a twist-the difference being its introductionofspeech as the privilegedexpression of design and, consequently,of drawing.Whence the new parallel we have proposed in the formof an equivalence: color is to drawing as writingis to speech. As a startinghypothesis,then,we mightsay that speech and drawing alike hold certain privileges: that of the expressionof thought,of clarity,of black on white. And, just as writingis considered, in its "25 so color,in its relation to speech, the "instrumentofan instrument, subordination to drawing,is also conceived of as the instrumentof an instrument.
24. This concession favor to colorhas enjoyed tremendous eversincePhilostrates; mostnotably, it appears Blanc.I havediscussed in thewritings ofDiderotand Charles thisissue in my"Portrait in loc. cit. de la couleuren femme fatale," 25. RolandBarthes, "Semiographie Masson," L'Obvie et 1'obtus:essais d'Andrd critiques III (Paris:Editions du Seuil, 1982),144.

58

Yale French Studies

As soonas itis formulated, thisattractive calls however, symmetry forth an objection, forit is not certainthatspeechis an instrument, sincemetaphysicians have-to go quickly here-thoughtofspeechas the"natural"expression ofthought. Drawing, on theother hand,may be constantly of thought, as the accurate defined as the expression an instrumental expression oftheidea,butit also remains expression, " evenifitcanbe expressed a trace. aloudin Le Brun's "practical design, speech,nevertheless essentially dependson thehand. andleaving thequestion Thus,emboldened bythisdevelopment, of relations speech aside, we can now approach writing/drawing/color from a different we haveinsisted on drawangle.Up untilnow, indeed, ing'scomplicity in withwriting, aimedat keeping color line,subservient.But havingtakenintoaccountall the traits whichunitecolor andwriting-supplement, tothe seduction-in opposition ornament, probity ofdrawing, ourselves ourinitial we find obligedto reexamine outline,or at least to nuance it. The analogybetweendrawing and in all theexamples relied on thelink writing, wehavegiven, has always betweendrawing and imitation, between and theexpression drawing oftheidea,and so has sought to establish itslegitimacy bymeansofa certain of"instrumental" It is notwithout interconception writing. tonotethat itis on thevery samemetaphysiest,however, historically, cal basisthatdrawing as a supposedly has beenpromoted, clearexpression of the idea, whereascolor (like writing) has been consistently reducedto theambiguous statusofthesupplement. to coloris not,however, Drawing'sallegedsuperiority necessarily based on imitation, forifone wereto takeintoaccountthiscriterion theentire de Pilesdoesin alone,one couldreverse argument, as Roger thisunequivocalstatement: "Le peintre qui estun parfait imitateur de la nature, d'un excellent pourvude l'habitude dessin,commenous le doitdoncconsiderer la couleurcommeson objetprincipal, supposons, cettememenatureque commeimitable, puisqu'il ne regarde qu'elle ne lui estimitableque parcequ'elle estvisible,et qu'elle n'estvisible que parcequ'elle est coloriee"(de Piles, 145) [The painter, who imitatesnature andis,we assume,endowed withexcellent drawperfectly ing skills,musttherefore take coloras his principal object,since he he can imitate, since he can only onlylooks at natureas something imitate it insofar andsinceit is onlyvisibleinsofar as it is visible, as it is colored]. ifit is true What,then, is thebasis fordrawing's privileged status, thatcolorimitatesbetter thandrawing? a littledetourinto Perhaps

GEORGES

ROQUE

59

semioticswill provehelpfulhere. In orderto transpose the color/ drawing debate, we might saythatdrawing as signifier directly refers or corresponds to thesignified (idea,concept), whereascolor'splasticity takesprecedence overits iconic dimension. But when we formulate thingsin this way,the source of the dissymmetry becomes immediately apparent: theplasticdimension ofdrawing is erased for thesole benefit ofitsiconicdimension.26 Fordrawing, likecolor, also possesses a plan of expression. In the classical drawing/color debate,however, thetwoelements arenoton equal footing: drawing is nottheelementary stroke or trait whichconstitutes its "plan ofexpression," as the semioticians wouldsay, butis almostalwaysconceived ofas represenofits tationaldrawing, whereascoloris rightly conceived ofin terms to "plan of expression" alone. Fromthispointon, it is not difficult is incapableofexshow thatcolor,deprived ofits "plan ofcontent," all themore pressing a signified-a taskwhichdrawing accomplishes easilysince it has already beenpositedas a vehicleforcontent. 27 suggests The factthat drawing is made up of strokes[traits] another relation to writing, a relation whichwouldalso includecolor, since color too is composedof elementary And so strokesor traits. thereemerges, and beyond the tiredold opposition betweendrawing and tobothdrawing color, another relationship whichconnect writing color. In thissense,the"grammar for as ofdrawing" is a deceptive notion, it soonas itpositsdrawing ofan idea,confining as themereexpression to thelevelofcontent constithemedium's alone,andthusneglecting to note,however, tutivetraits orstrokes. It is notwithout importance thataround1880other grammars comeintobeing whichactas kindof of the traitor a cruciblefor"abstraction," as do certaingrammars ofcolor. as well as grammars whichdo notdeal withdrawing, stroke, forinstance,dede 1'ornement, Bourgoin's Grammaire 6lementaire and or strokes of the "graphic finesthe elementary traits alphabet," "les thenproceeds to study its "rulesofconjugation," byconsidering figures de l'alphabet<graphique> non plus commedes signesou des les formes commeles lettres figurations graphiques destinees a ecrire ou desobjects distincts maisbiencommedesfigures ecrivent les mots,
ofthisdistinction, cf.Groupe du signevisuel: 26. Forfurther elaboration M, TraitW de 1image(Paris:Editions du Seuil,1992),113ff. pourunerh6torique 27. The author is playing on thedoublemeaning oftheFrench word"trait," which meansboth"stroke"(as in penstroke) and "trait"(as in character trait).-Translator's note.

60

Yale French Studies

Andso themediation ofwriting has taught us, at thevery least,to theopposition andcolor, to emphasize relativize between drawing the factthat theyare both susceptibleto "grammatical" analysis,to a into elementary traitsor strokes, break-down whichhave a notable of nonfiguration, bothin the decorative impacton the development artsand in chromatics. We can findconfirmation ofthisifwe take a look at the current situationof the arts.The "eternalconflict," as Matisse called it, beand colorappearsto be waning-althoughnot disaptweendrawing -in thatcoloron theone hand,and drawing on pearing altogether3 the other, have both liberatedthemselves fromthe once-dominant in order tostandon their instrumental-representational function, own and asserttheirindependent value. Henceforth, of any examination
29. George A Grammar Field, ofcoloring Appliedto Decorative Painting and the Arts, newedition(London: Lockwood& Co., 1875), 2. 30. In France, cf.also E. Guichard, La Grammaire de la couleur H. Cagnon, (Paris: 1882). 31. Therenevertheless remains, beyond theage-old a lasting trait whichis conflict, surely one ofthemainreasonsfortheconflict, and thatis thatcolortendsto parade in opposition around, to drawing. As Titus-Carmel noted:"Temperer l'clat de la couleurparle travail dela minedeplomb, la laisser seulement filtrer a travers les maillesde ce filet dehachures les feux," taken from grises qui en dteint his "Notesd'ateliers (1973op. cit.,15. 74),"in Le Dessin pourquoi?,
1880), 33.

harmony?30

of the 'graphic' existanten propre et par eux-memes"28 [thefigures alphabetno longeras signsofgraphic figurations, designed to write formsas letterswritewords,but rather as distinctfigures, objects whichexistin and ofthemselves]. And whatis truefordrawing also ofcoloris therefore holds trueforcolor.A grammar possible,ifit is based on themodelofdrawing's traits: "As bythedeflecelementary tionofa pointin space maybe generated all theelementary and figures forms ofgeometrical and constructive a like deflecscience,so from tion ofa spotin place maybe generated all theelementary and compoundhues ofcolors;thesciencewhichis called Chromatics."29 Thus,ifit is truethatcoloris notdrawing's to the other, relegated realmofemotion, associbeyond language, or,as we might saytoday, atedwith[libidinal] arewe notjustified in thinking thatcolor drives, has wonits "autonomy" onlywiththehelpofa "scienceofpainting," a chromatics, or rather a grammar, whichbreakscolordownintoalin order and conjugations, to establish therulesofits phabet, syntax

28. Jules Bourgoin,Grammaire6l6mentaire de 1'ornement (Paris: Delgrave,

GEORGES

ROQUE

61

drawing and writing mustno longer positeach mediumas an instrument, butrather as a trace(or, toputit another no longer way, as a plan ofcontent, butrather as a plan ofexpression). It is significant, in this context, thatBarthes was onlyable to address thequestionofdrawing totheidea thattheessenceofwriting byresorting is unreadability.32 It thusseemsnecessary to abandontheidea ofwriting's instrumentality, so thatwriting can appearas a traceand so thatanother connection between and drawing can emerge. writing Whencethe different stakesthatsurface theinstrumental beyond function. Whencealso therediscovery ofthevalueandvirtue ofdrawingas stroke. As Daniel Dezeuze notes,after referring to theworkof Derridaand Barthes:"II y a donc une sortede procesen defense de l'ecriture qui est aussi la defense du dessin" (Dezeuze, 42) [Thereis thus a sortof trial,a defenseof writing which is also a defenseof drawing]. The importance ortrait thatis henceforth attached to thestroke in andlikewiseto thespotorpatchin color, drawing, leadsus, in concluthe elementthatserved as ourpointofdeparture: sion,to reconsider the black/white oppositionwhich we identified as the common ground between writing anddrawing, andwhichseemedtoinvolve an exclusionofcolor.On thispoint,too,we mustnowbe moreprudent, more subtle. For this construct is based on the idea of black as noncolor-an idea whichwe mustcall intoquestion.Just as theblack traceacquiresa certain legitimacy [itslettres de noblesse]whenit is freed from orrepresentational a purely instrumental so black function, as a color can affirm It does so in the workof itselfand triumph. as Renoir oncetoldhim, Matisse,for example-Matisse whosetalent, residessolelyin his use ofthe colorblack (Matisse,Ecritset propos, 202). Soulages also rehabilitates black, even more brilliantly than Matisse.Evenfor who does notuse black, a painter likeAlbert Ayme, but sticksto different ofthe three combinations primary colors,the workof colorand its dynamism, are clearlyconceivedofas moving from whiteto black-like writing, whichis an important partofhis art.33 Fromthiswe might in another our moveoff direction, turning
32. Cf.for example one ofhis remarks at theround table"La Peinture et l'dcriture des signes," in La Sociologie de Partet sa vocation interdisciplinaire, op.cit.,191,and L'Obvie etl'obtus,op. cit.,144. 33. Cf.thecatalogue, Albert Ayme:R6trospective 1960-1992 (Paris:Ecole nationale supdrieure desBeaux-Arts, tothecata1992).I raisedthisissuein mycontribution logue,"Notessurla partition des couleurs," 52-54.

62

Yale French Studies

attention to the importance of writing for'color' painters like Van Gogh or Delacroix,in whose workcolorindeedseems to go hand in handwithwriting.34 In thefinal theantimony analysis, then, between color and drawing no longerseems so pronounced, thanksto their commonlinks to writing. Henceforth otherconfigurations may be
emerging...

Translated byCarolineWeber

theworkof givesa synthetic view ofthelinksbetween 34. Jean-Pierre Guillerm Des Motset in his essay"Blanc/Noir," in Delacroix's art, colorandthework ofwriting de Lille,1986),7 ff. Cf., (Lille:PressesUniversitaires des couleurs/2, ed. J.-P. Guillerm Universitaires de Le Journal de Delacroix(Lille:Presses also hisbook:Couleurs de noir. Lille, 1990).