Direct Study of Gothic Arch in Great Sculpture Courts - Victoria & Albert Museum

1961

From the collection of Victoria and Albert Museum

Dominant colour

Direct Study of Gothic Arch in Great Sculpture Courts - Victoria & Albert Museum is a 1961 by Barry Martin, held at Victoria and Albert Museum.

Who painted this?: Barry Martin
When & what style?: 1961
Where can I see it?: Victoria and Albert Museum

About this work

This drawing shows a Gothic arch in the Victoria and Albert Museum’s sculpture courts. The lines are precise and controlled, like a map of the space. Barry Martin made it in 1961, early in his career. He used drawing to study how light and shadows play on stone. The marks aren’t just outlines—they suggest weight and texture. It’s a quiet but careful look at a place most people hurry past. See how he builds depth with fine lines. If you like this, try Martin, Barry.

The story of this work

Overview

A small portrait-format drawing in pen, ink, and wash by Barry Martin depicts a cast of a Gothic archway from Rosslyn Chapel, created during a visit to the Victoria and Albert Museum's Cast Courts while he was a student. The work reflects Martin's longstanding engagement with drawing as both a tool for observation and an intellectual process. Executed in the early 1960s, it belongs to a series of drawings he made from plaster casts in the museum's collection.

Read the full account in the museum source.