Brug 1855 - 1881

Coen Metzelaar made this drawing, Brug, with pen and ink on paper. The loose hatching and sketchy lines create a sense of spontaneity. But the choice of subject is more deliberate: the drawing is a study of infrastructure, showing a bridge as both a physical structure and a site of labor. The workers and their horses, dwarfed by the bridge's scale, are crucial to the composition. Their activities—loading, transporting, and general bustling about—emphasize the human energy required to maintain such a vast structure. The drawing’s materiality—simple pen on paper—contrasts sharply with the monumental bridge. The artist's hand, guided by a pen, captures the scene with an immediacy that monumental paintings often lack. The bridge, rendered with quick, repetitive strokes, speaks to the industrial age and the massive projects reshaping the landscape. This drawing invites us to consider the relationship between design, labor, and the human experience, ultimately questioning the line between fine art and the documentation of everyday life.