Omgehakte boomstam op een open plek in een bos 1848 - 1888

Anton Mauve rendered this drawing of a felled tree trunk in a forest clearing with graphite on paper. Graphite, a form of carbon, is the soft, lead-like material at the heart of pencils. It’s extracted through mining, then processed into rods for drawing. Notice how Mauve exploits graphite’s capacity for subtle tonal gradations. He captures light filtering through the forest canopy. The density of marks creates areas of shadow, suggesting the damp earth and decaying wood. See the marks pulled across the page to create this effect. While seemingly simple, this drawing reflects the increasing industrialization of 19th-century society. The availability of affordable drawing materials like graphite pencils allowed artists to sketch outdoors, capturing fleeting moments in nature. In turn, that nature becomes just another material to be extracted and used for our ends. This piece encourages us to think about the relationship between art, industry, and our changing environment.