Hoofd van lachende vrouw 1895 - 1896

This head of a laughing woman was made with graphite on paper by P. Lapierre. Graphite pencil is one of the most widely used drawing materials, and it allows for very fine detail. Lapierre has used graphite to create this head and shoulders of a laughing woman. The artist has used cross-hatching to build up the tone, giving the drawing a soft, almost ethereal quality. The effect is a light and airy feel to the image, which is perhaps appropriate for the subject matter of laughter. Pencil drawings like this would often have been used for preparatory sketches, and drawings such as this one were often made by artists in order to prepare for larger works, such as paintings or sculptures. Though graphite may seem like an everyday material, the artist's skill in using it can turn it into something quite special, showing how the perceived hierarchy between fine art and craft becomes blurred upon closer inspection.