Gezicht te Venetië 1872 - 1904

Wilhelm Cornelis Bauer made this drawing of Venice sometime before his death in 1904, using pen and ink on paper. The starkness of the materials emphasizes the linear qualities of the scene: the crisp reflections on the water, the outlines of the distant buildings, the rigging of the boats at anchor. You can almost feel the artist carefully building up the image with thousands of individual strokes. Consider the economic dimensions of this work. Paper and ink were relatively cheap and easily available by the turn of the century, thanks to industrial manufacturing. But don't let the seeming simplicity fool you. Bauer had to train his eye and hand to create this kind of study. The skill and artistry involved are considerable. It’s a reminder that even the most apparently straightforward images are the result of complex interactions between materials, labor, and cultural context. The means of production are always present, even when they seem invisible.