Sculptor at Work on a Colossal Statue 1765 - 1800

Carl August Ehrensvärd created this ink drawing, *Sculptor at Work on a Colossal Statue*, in the late 18th century, a time when Europe was deeply engaged with the rediscovery of classical antiquity. The drawing depicts a sculptor standing on scaffolding, dwarfed by the massive statue he is working on, while a child looks on. Ehrensvärd, a Swedish artist and military architect, was deeply invested in the aesthetics of the picturesque and the sublime. His interests are reflected in the drawing's contrasting scales that evoke a sense of awe and the small, silhouetted figures emphasizing human insignificance. It is also a meditation on labor and the artistic process. The sculptor, elevated on scaffolding, is literally building an image of power, while Ehrensvärd seems to question the nature of authority. Is it constructed, fragile, dependent on human effort? The child's upward gaze suggests a future generation inheriting this constructed world. It invites us to reflect on our own relationship to the monumental and the stories we choose to build and perpetuate.