Da Vinci’s drawings, particularly his studies and unfinished works, sometimes keep my attention longer than his polished paintings. In such works his thoughts are bare on the page in jotted down observations. The process and structure of abandoned works show his fascination with knowing and how, in many ways, the figure is unknowable. I would like to consider how works by da Vinci are akin to works by William Faulkner. Faulkner did some early drawings of unknown soldiers that have a rawness evocative of the writing that would come later. Like da Vinci’s art, Faulkner’s drawings seek to capture with the understanding that they cannot be fully caught. Faulkner’s figures mature in his writing where his characters are vivid presences yet often difficult to describe clearly and impossible to trust. Da Vinci’s need to investigate, to look beneath the skin to understand the underneath, is echoed in Faulkner’s desire to write about “the human heart in conflict with itself.”
Brooke P. Alexander is a painter from Athens, Alabama. She completed her BA in Studio Art with a minor in English in 2015 from Athens State University, and her MFA in Studio Art with a concentration in Painting in 2018 from The University of Mississippi. Her work is painted extensively from life, inspired by literature, while intermingling elements of memory. She has participated in solo and group exhibitions regionally and nationally and is the 2024 Mississippi Fellow for South Arts. She is an Instructional Assistant Professor at The University of Mississippi in Oxford, Mississippi, where she teaches a variety of studio art courses.
