To Gogol 'The Overcoat' II 1918

Editor: This is Walter Gramatté’s sketch, "To Gogol 'The Overcoat' II". It looks like it's just pencil on paper. It feels very… fragile. What can you tell me about it? Curator: Well, considering the artist, we should consider what this piece tells us about the means of artistic production within the Expressionist movement and how the work emphasizes the materiality and conditions of its making. The visible pencil strokes and paper ground the image in its physical reality. Editor: So, you are saying the process is part of the message? Curator: Precisely! The roughness of the sketch reflects the labor and perhaps even the socio-economic conditions of the artist and the figure depicted. It makes us consider what the artist had to work with and what that says about the world. Editor: I see! Thank you. Curator: My pleasure.