Manskop met grote baard 1705 - 1754

This drawing of a bearded man was made by Jacob de Wit, probably in the first half of the 1700s, using black chalk. The grainy texture and soft, muted grey tones come directly from the nature of this material. Black chalk is made of pigment, clay and a binder like gum arabic. Here, you can see de Wit has fully exploited chalk’s capacity for subtle gradations, building up the image with layers of shading. Notice how the marks are more concentrated in areas like the hair and beard, creating a strong contrast with the lighter tones of the face. Chalk is relatively easy to handle and blend, but also fragile and prone to smudging. The artist would have needed a skilled hand to create such a detailed image. Drawings like this were often studies for larger paintings, where this initial exploration of form and light would be translated into another medium. Considering materials and making helps us appreciate the skill involved in this work, and the traditions of drawing that it emerges from.