Seeing Through Drawing

At the time the longest arts documentary the BBC had ever shown, this film is about the fascination and meaning of drawing; why we draw, what we draw, what has been drawn and how drawing differs from painting or photography. During the course of it David Hockney makes two drawings of one of his favourite subjects, Celia Birtwell. The caricaturist and illustrator Ralph Steadman is seen at work in his studio, as well as drawing some of the regulars in his local pub. And the American Jim Dine, well-known first in the 60’ as a pop artist, completes this trio of contemporary artists, all of them preoccupied by drawing and talking freely, not only about their own approach, but about the work of other artists they admire. The film also includes unique archive film and photographs of Matisse and Giacometti, as well as quotations from the notebooks and letters of major European artists from Leonardo da Vinci to Degas and Van Gogh.

Directed by —, Seeing Through Drawing leans on a strong ensemble — David Hockney, Ralph Steadman — to carry a story that balances spectacle with character.

The film landed with audiences for its craft and performances, and remains one of the most talked-about documentary titles of 1978.