Skizze zu einem Dom 

Hans Makart created this painting, a sketch of a cathedral, using oil on canvas. In the making of this sketch, Makart used traditional art materials, where the fluid nature of oil paint allowed him to capture the play of light and shadow on the architectural forms, and the weightiness of the stone structure. The canvas support, usually hidden, is here partly visible, as though the building is emerging from the raw matter that sustains it. The techniques used would have involved layering and blending to create depth and volume, demonstrating his understanding of form and perspective. In the 19th century the making of such preparatory sketches was part of a wider industrial and capitalist system, where artworks are commodities produced for consumption within a culture of display, labor, politics, and consumption. The sketch reveals the amount of work involved in the design of this architectural structure. Looking closely at the materiality of the painting, and the context of its making, reveals how we can appreciate Makart’s work beyond traditional distinctions between fine art and craft.