Three trees 1853

Gustave Courbet made this pencil drawing, Three Trees, on paper. It is a study, a quick record of observation. Courbet was a Realist, attentive to the world around him. But here he uses the simplest of means. The trees emerge from the page through the application of graphite, which of course comes from the earth itself. You can see Courbet's process, the marks and erasures. The softness of the graphite allows for shading and texture, but also for a sense of light and air. Consider the social context of this drawing. In Courbet’s time, landscapes became very popular, as did the relatively inexpensive medium of pencil. He was part of a larger culture of observation and recording. The drawing’s immediacy and simplicity can easily be overlooked, but it's in these very qualities that we find its power. It challenges the traditional hierarchy of art, inviting us to find beauty and meaning in the everyday.