Vrouw poseert met de handen op de heupen before 1961

Hans Borrebach made this drawing of a woman with hands on her hips, using graphite on paper. Here, the artist's hand is evident in the drawn line, with a contrast between the figure's bold, solid attire and the sketchy lines used to indicate the surrounding space. The artist uses the pencil in a traditional way, yet the subject matter is modern, showing a woman in fashionable clothing. Consider the qualities of graphite: its relative cheapness, and the ease with which it can be applied to paper. In this, we sense something about the labor of fashion design. Unlike other methods of visualizing clothing, like photography, the fashion sketch allows an artist to express their own style. In this work, we can see the artist's individual way of seeing in the seemingly effortless application of graphite. Ultimately, the simple materials and the artist's hand reminds us that the artwork's meaning lies not only in its subject matter, but in its making. This challenges traditional distinctions between fine art and commercial art, by reminding us that every image has a maker and a context.