Træ- og plantestudier 1831 - 1852

Editor: This is Dankvart Dreyer’s “Tree and Plant Studies,” made with pencil sometime between 1831 and 1852. I’m really drawn to the unfinished quality; it feels more like an investigation than a polished landscape. What catches your eye when you look at this drawing? Curator: Well, I immediately think about the materiality. We have to consider the kind of pencil Dreyer was using, how readily available and affordable it was, and what that says about artistic training at the time. Was drawing seen as a primary skill, a craft even, or merely a step towards painting? Editor: That's interesting. I hadn't considered the social implications of using pencil. Curator: Exactly. Look at the labor involved in even this seemingly simple sketch. Someone had to produce that pencil, someone had to source the paper. Think about the consumption patterns that made this kind of art-making possible. And how does the "unfinished" quality challenge the hierarchy of finished versus unfinished artwork? Was this meant to be seen or just function as a preliminary study? Editor: I suppose it challenges our assumptions about what constitutes “art.” It's easy to overlook the means of production when we look at art in a gallery. Curator: Precisely. And how the means of production determine our understanding of art. Do you think Dreyer considered these materialist aspects himself while rendering those delicate leaves and trees? Editor: Probably not directly, but by choosing pencil and paper, he was participating in a material culture with its own set of values and conditions. It definitely gives me a different perspective on a landscape drawing. Curator: Indeed. By acknowledging the material conditions of its making, we've expanded our appreciation for its significance.