The sense of Calligraphy

[fpupulin]

As many of the aficionados of the Montblanc forum will certainly have seen, on the pages of another thread dedicated to the 149 Calligraphy we had many exchanges of views as to the combinations of inks and papers that are best suited to this special nib. In recent times we have made various experiments with Amalfi papers, other hand-made papers and an interesting Fabriano paper called Unica, trying them with various permanent and non-permanent inks, both for calligraphic use and for everyday writing.

All this made me want to write a reflection on the meaning of calligraphy and on the relationship that for the past year and a half binds me in a special way to my Calligraphy pen, and to do it by making use of what many friends have learned on these pages, using my Calligraphy with some chosen paper and ink.
 

The result is a small calligraphic work that I made first on the Unica paper, using the Calligraphy with Coffe Sunburst ink by Diamine, and then the same pen with Montblanc's Black Permanent on an Amalfi paper by Amatruda.

 

For the title, written in Roman capital letters, I used Mahatma Gandhi ink in the first version, used for intinction with an old Omas Lucens. I drew the outline of the letters and then filled them with ink with the Omas thin nib. However, apart from the fact that the title seemed a bit too big to me, I was sorry not to have also written it "calligraphically”. The Unica paper performed very well, with all the nibs and all the inks. The almost complete lack of surface texture makes it a little "impersonal", and for this reason I decided to do a second test on a more textured paper. I chose Amatruda paper for inkjet printers, which is a hand-made, laid paper in the A3 format. It has a large filigree with the name of the paper mill on the lower right part of the sheet.l  

 

I did some experimentation with different nibs and inks, using both pointed and cut nibs. In the end, it seemed to me that the best result was that of the stub nib of my Montegrappa Extra 19230 Bamboo Black, but not with the Alt Goldgrün ink it was loaded with, but rather with Diamine's Golden Brown. I washed the pen, loaded it with brown, and wrote the title in the Roman square capital "straight away”.

 

With a title in brown, it seemed to me that the main text should not also be in a brown color, so I emptied and washed the Calligraphy and loaded it with Black Permanent.

 

And here is the result, which I photographed together with the two pens that made it. The text has many, too many adjectives, but I like it for its simple design. With pointed handwriting, the hard part is resisting the temptation to overdo it with flourishes …

 

 

 

 

In the following photograph you can observe the "experiments" of Roman capital made with different nibs and inks, as well as the first version of the work, with the title written with the Gandhi ink.

 

 

[NoType]

fpupulin, what an amazingly informative and entertaining post you have gifted us with this weekend, an absolute pleasure to read and reread, the perfect sort of infotainment for those like myself eschewing other, lesser forms through radio, television, and internet.

 

I must respectfully take slight issue with your self-criticism: I found the text actually perfect in the amount of adjectives, the sentence gracefully composed and beautifully constructed.  I cannot think of an editorial change that could improve the structure or enhance the impact of your art.  Because make no mistake, your two efforts are art works of compelling beauty.

 

Your doubled reflection on calligraphy in these two versions is pleasing both aesthetically and descriptively, from the differences in font between the top line, the title, the body, and the valediction, to the colours and dimensions chosen for these four parts.  

 

I found the Mahatma Gandhi colour for the first version’s title to be light enough in tone and elegant enough in hue to carry off its extra large size.  I especially like the frisson created by the juxtaposition of the delicate top line “The sense of” with the bold title “Calligraphy,” heightened by the colours chosen in the first version.

 

The second version trades high drama for almost a Vitruvian-inspired sense of correct and pleasing proportions, where the texture of the paper lends a quiet enhancement to the composition.

 

Both versions are sublime in their own ways, and satisfyingly exhibit the comeliness of the pointed calligraphy, the depth of your talent and achievement in the art of this beautiful writing.  Thank you for sharing your extremely successful experiment with the forum, enriching our days and making us indeed fortunate.

[fpupulin]

On 9/11/2021 at 12:10 PM, NoType said:

fpupulin, what an amazingly informative and entertaining post you have gifted us with this weekend, an absolute pleasure to read and reread, the perfect sort of infotainment for those like myself eschewing other, lesser forms through radio, television, and internet. [...]

 

 

Dear pen pal, your chosen and beautiful words have more merit in my eyes than my writings ...

 

I really like using my pen to write, as I usually do, what is going through my head, but taking advantage of her calligraphic skills to do it in a more eye-catching way. It is the power of calligraphy, that of extracting words from their zone of uniformity and making them somehow shine for the eye as if they were new and high-sounding ...

 

In the harmony of the calligraphic expression the phrases take on a melodic and sung and enchanted aspect.

 

I made a third version of the writing, engrossing the descending strokes more to give the text a body of greater weight, in an English cursive more in the style of Percossi than in the more delicate one of Mediavilla.

 

 

More balanced with the title, which maintains the design and proportions of version II, this last proof is perhaps my favorite. As you can see, in order to visually fill in the empty spaces next to the title, I made some light flourishings, which complement and complete the rectangular shape of the work.

 

 

Here you can see the three versions all together, on my desk.

 

 

 

Thank you again for your observations.

[NoType]

fpupulin, you are much too modest — surely the pleasure you provide us with your calligraphy exercises must far exceed any humble thanks or observations on your experiments that we may proffer in return, hardly in my eyes a fair exchange.  This “trade imbalance,” as it were, seems fated to continue and grow ever larger, and so in lieu of furnishing answering calligraphic responses to your contributions whilst I practise and take heart from your efforts until I feel comfortable sharing my output, I am reduced to these delighted acknowledgements upon which you so generously and undeservedly remark, to my (embarrassed) appreciation. 

 

I too find the third version’s weightier style the most pleasing, and the most harmonious with the title’s overall proportions, the latter greatly benefitting from the added flanking flourish.  The body’s vigorous cursive and the title’s ornament are inspired improvements to an already quite lovely pair of works, but if I may be so brash, my only wish is for slightly bolder lettering in the title, the writing modified to perhaps halfway between the current weight of the (second and) third version and that of the first version.  It seems to me that slightly weightier title lettering might better stand up to the increased impact of the body’s robust style, as well as create an even greater contrast with the delicate informality of the script of the top line (“The sense of”).  I freely admit that this change may not result in as great an enhancement as you have wrought with the more vivid body, but, at best, rather a more incremental refinement.

 

Thank you, fpupulin, for continuing to ignite and galvanise our imagination.  

[fpupulin]

Dear pen friend, as you asked for it in such a polite way, as well as for the acuteness of your observations (many of which I agree with), I decided to put in place a fourth version of the "Sense of Calligraphy", adopting  several of your suggestions.

 

I enlarged the title, but not the strokes of which it is made of, because it is written with one of my widest and best nibs. I must also confess that I particularly like the Roman square capital executed with a thinner nib than the right one, because it gives the lapidary writing an ethereal quality which I like the most.

 
I also decided to add an "oversized" capital at the beginning of the word to give the title some movement, but I'm not entirely sure if I prefer this new version over the previous ones.

The body of the text in Copperplate, written with a sort of  "average" pressure, and which I like perhaps more than all the others, represented a real challenge for its difficulty. Keeping my hand light, but not too much, and exerting pressure, but not too much, was no easy feat.

In the following photograph you can see the two latest versions together, with version III (above) and IV (below).

 

 

 

 

And this is, finally, the last photography of the series. Since I don't think I will write another "Sense of Calligraphy", I decided to photographically add another of the elements that I consider proper and essential to beautiful writing: the impression of magic.

 

That's why I played with the light reflections that cross the bottles of colored inks, casting their shadows and their transparencies on the writing.

 

[como]

@fpupulin Dear Franco, I am absolutely amazed by the depth and breath of your knowledge of photography, calligraphy and aesthetics in general. They work both individually and collectively so well together. You can switch between scripts with such ease. I began to learn just two scripts: Copperplate and Spencerian, and I am constantly mixing them up already just between the two! The other day I tried Gothic just for the fun of it, and found it so much more difficult than I imagined. One can be alone and try to learn calligraphy, but coming to such forum and seeing such works like yours and other members' serve as a great source of ideas and inspiration. Thank you!

[NoType]

fpupulin, como has so eloquently and accurately conveyed the feelings of so many of us who have had the honour and the privilege of reading these posts, that all I have left to express are my deep appreciation, admiration, and approbation for the fourth version of your evocative and thought-provoking artwork series, “The Sense of Calligraphy.”  
 

Not only am I profoundly touched that you have actually gone ahead and created this fourth version, but I am strongly of the opinion that by following only some of my thoughts and adding a few of your own ideas, you have improved the look and feel of the piece beyond my expectations.  Like you, at first I balked a little at the enlarged beginning letter of “Calligraphy,” but after studying the first photo a moment, looking away for another moment, and then returning to it, I think it just looks “correct.” Oftentimes I find in art that some aspects simply “work,” although I cannot clearly explain why or how, or the logic behind a certain “rightness” of an artist’s decision, only that it is simply correct, and so it is with your decision to create movement in the title by increasing the size of the “C.”  

 

But I think it is more than this single decision.   The appreciably lighter body of the text, so hard-won, the effort in the Copperplate’s creation so highly rewarded by its sheer elegance and resulting visual balance, plays a leading role in the greater pleasing effect of this fourth version, surely the apotheosis of the series, enhanced even further by the delicate colors dappling the page which bring to mind the activating and energising effects of stained glass. Magic, indeed!

 

Thank you once again for such a wonderful series, fpupulin.

[txomsy]

As usual, your work leaves me speechless.