Why Sketch UNESCO World Heritage Sites?
The UNESCO World Heritage List includes 1248 cultural and natural properties and Studio 56 participants have sketched 24 of them! That’s impressive! But we’re just getting started!
Workshop participants have sketched and painted sites from the ancient Roman Pont du Gard aquaduct in France to Venice and its Lagoon to the pyramids in Uxmal, Mexico.
UNESCO chooses these sites because of their “outstanding universal value” with the intention that they should be protected for future generations. They represent significant human achievements such as Stonehenge, architectural marvels such as Pisa, ancient civilizations, or unique cultural traditions such as Mont Saint-Michel. For our purposes, UNESCO sites are infinitely sketchable.
It’s a great thrill to have the opportunity to sketch or paint UNESCO sites that many of us have on our bucket lists. These places are magical, breathtaking, unforgettable! “How is it possible,” I ask myself, “that Stonehenge was built without the aid of modern machinery, that the leaning tower is still standing, that Mont Saint-Michel could be so exquisite?”
And then after standing and staring in awe for an embarrassingly long time, we set to documenting and interpreting the wonder that is before us. Noticing every detail, we commit to memory the chiseled spirals on the megalithic temples of Malta (that predate Stonehenge), the tangible sense of calm we feel in Bruges’ béguinage, or San Gimignano’s astonishing medieval towers.
Regardless of where we are when we make our art, we are doing it in the context of a place—a place that only exists because of incredible human achievement or the impact of time on the natural world.
Visiting and sketching these inspirational UNESCO sites enriches our understanding of history, culture, and the natural world we live in. Our goal is to visit and sketch as many as we can.
Which UNESCO World Heritage sites are on your bucket list? Write a comment below. It could just be that we will be going there soon!