The Deposition [verso] 

Ivan Mestrovic rendered The Deposition in an unknown year using graphite on paper. The figures are formed from thousands of gray lines, their bodies and faces hatched with individual strokes that give them volume and emotion. Graphite is a relatively common material. It is found in pencils, used for sketching and writing, and so already has a connotation of the everyday. Mestrovic coaxes a monumental feeling out of it here. The figures appear sorrowful and dignified. The use of hatching is particularly effective in conveying the weight of Christ’s body as it is supported by mourners. It is an intimate rendering of grief. Mestrovic’s choice of graphite is notable because it emphasizes the artistic process, and the human hand. Rather than obscuring the traces of labor, Mestrovic elevates the art of drawing. The drawing is presented as a careful, emotionally charged, manual act. The image becomes about the act of making, the act of mourning, and the space between the two.