Alchemy of Drawing

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Dec 30, 2025
2 min read

Updated: 3 hours ago

In the corridors of Lisbon's Royal Palace of Ajuda, a solitary painter pursues an elusive presence: Polymnia, the Muse of Art. She appears, vanishes, and reappears in ever-changing forms, embodying the countless kinds of beauty that resist definition.

When she sits for him, her stillness is only an illusion. As he draws, she shifts expression, posture, essence—while he tries to fix her likeness through an ultimate act of devotion: drawing with silver, gold, and platinum, an alchemical ritual where matter seeks spirit. Beauty has a thousand faces, and the Muse contains them all.

Absorbed by the act, the painter chases perfection, until the final revelation emerges. The completed drawing is not his alone. The Muse herself has guided the hand, finished the image, and dissolved it back into the world. The Muse was never separate from creation. She might be nature itself, endlessly transforming, and forever beyond capture. Artist Nelson Ferreira has taught silverpoint drawing as a guest lecturer for the National Portrait Gallery in London during the exhibition The Encounter, which brought together drawings by Leonardo da Vinci, Albrecht Dürer, and Hans Holbein. On this occasion, he also delivered a public talk at the National Portrait Gallery’s amphitheatre (Ondaatje Wing Theatre). The new film is based on this course and expands upon the material presented during these sessions. His invitation to teach and speak within the context of this exhibition reflects his deep knowledge of historical drawing techniques and his ability to communicate Renaissance and early modern practices to specialist audiences.