Pink in Architectural Drawings

Abstract

Surprisingly, the use of colour in architectural drawing has not been extensively documented. Today, as colour saturates our contemporary world, it is important to reflect on a time when the use of colour in drawings required careful consideration. Basile Baudez’s book “Inessential Colors”, published in 2021, is one of the first comprehensive works to explore this topic. This essay will focus on the use of pink, which was initially used to represent cut masonry but later evolved into a more decorative and possibly alluring role. The piece will discuss the shift from the systematic use of colour to a more creative approach, highlighting a drawing from the late eighteenth century by Antonio Asprucci, whose pink washes depicting the Temple of Diana express something beyond the marble structure of the temple.