Interieur met een vrouw zittend aan een tafel bij een raam 1854 - 1914

Albert Neuhuys created this sketch of a woman at a table with graphite on paper. The artist captures a moment of domestic activity. The qualities of the graphite – its darkness and fineness – allow for quick marks and alterations. If you look closely, you'll see the layered, searching lines. Neuhuys is figuring out the form as he goes, capturing the effect of light falling on the woman’s figure. It is the kind of on-the-spot observation that many artists found essential in the late 19th century. But we can also read a social dimension here. The quick, light, marks speak to the ready availability of paper and pencils, by this time common commodities of industrialized society. A far cry from the laborious traditions of handmade paper and quill pens, this sketch speaks to the democratization of artmaking, and its increased accessibility to a wider range of practitioners.