City hall in Nördlingen 

Editor: We're looking at "City Hall in Nördlingen," a pencil drawing by Karl Ballenberger, made sometime in the 19th century. The detail is amazing! It feels almost like an architectural blueprint, yet has this soft, faded quality from the pencil. What catches your eye about this piece? Curator: Well, focusing on the materiality, let's think about why Ballenberger chose pencil. It's accessible, transportable – a tool for documenting and disseminating images of architecture. Was this intended as art, or as a form of architectural record-keeping for the rising middle class perhaps? What’s the function of representing this building? Editor: I see your point. The act of drawing itself is a form of labor. How would the choice of a different medium impact the image's message? Curator: Exactly! If Ballenberger had chosen oil paints, that signals a different intention, aligning the work more with traditional "high art." But a pencil drawing, rapidly produced and potentially reproduced, connects it to broader social spheres and emerging printing technologies. Notice the labor evident in each precisely rendered line. He's almost working like a machine. Editor: That’s fascinating. I hadn't considered the connection to labor and dissemination. Curator: And consider the subject. A city hall – a space of governance and civic identity. What political function did architectural representation play in consolidating power structures? How do these structures become legitimized? Is he examining the actual materials and construction of the building as much as celebrating civic virtue? Editor: So, looking at the drawing, we should think about pencil as a democratic medium, and how the cityscape reflects societal power structures... Curator: Precisely. Ballenberger is documenting and participating in the construction of an urban narrative. We gain insight into both the city and its inhabitants. Editor: This really changes how I see not just this drawing, but other architectural renderings too. I'll definitely keep the materiality and function in mind going forward.