Lying cat 

Friedrich Wilhelm Hirt made this drawing of a cat at rest with graphite and colored pencil. The artist has used the soft and powdery qualities of the graphite to create the body of the cat, using different colours to show the mottled fur. The coloured pencil adds definition and texture to the cat’s fur. You can see how the artist has built up layers of graphite to create shadows and volume, giving the cat a sense of weight and presence. The soft, diffused quality of the graphite contrasts with the sharper lines of the colored pencil, creating a dynamic interplay of textures. Drawing has often been seen as preliminary to painting or sculpture, but here, the artist celebrates the immediacy and intimacy of the medium. The artist engages with the historical creative practices of drawing, and the everyday aesthetic of recording observations. By focusing on materials, making, and context, we can see how even a simple drawing can offer a rich and complex experience.