Czóbel Bela Kötő Nő 

Bela Czobel made this pastel and charcoal drawing of a woman knitting, most likely in the first half of the 20th century. It is sketched with an economy of line, that brings the subject to life. The knitted textile, and indeed the drawing itself, are built up through the accretion of many individual marks. Czobel has used soft pastels and charcoal to produce a scene of domestic labour, highlighting the slow and repetitive nature of knitting. The drawing is not highly finished, so it shares the same qualities of texture, weight and form with the depicted knitted textile, suggesting how a plain material such as yarn could be made into something more aesthetically appealing and comforting. By choosing such a mundane subject matter, Czobel elevates the crafts and labouring classes to the realms of high art. The artwork challenges our traditional distinctions between fine art and craft.