Rückenansicht eines männlichen Torso (Torso vom Belvedere) 

Nicolas Lancret made this drawing of a male torso with black and red chalk on paper. The artist is explicitly referencing another artwork, the Belvedere Torso. The original is a marble sculpture, a fragment of a nude male figure, now in the Vatican Museums. But Lancret does not give us the highly polished marble; instead, he gives us the raw, earthy qualities of chalk. Chalk is an interesting material, as it is so unassuming, yet so capable of capturing subtleties of form. Look at the soft gradations of tone that model the figure's back and shoulder. The artist coaxes volume out of a flat surface. Of course, drawing like this was a means to an end, a way of developing skills for painting. But it is also a record of labor, of the hours Lancret spent honing his craft. This drawing reminds us that even the most refined art has its basis in the simple act of mark-making. By understanding the materials and processes behind an artwork, we gain a deeper appreciation for its creation, and its context.