Landschap 1848 - 1888

Anton Mauve made this landscape drawing with graphite on paper at an unknown date. The marks are immediate, without any artifice. Notice the visible tooth of the paper that the artist worked on. It’s a relatively cheap material that absorbs graphite and creates a textured surface. Although Mauve was certainly capable of highly finished paintings, this quick study shows a different kind of expertise. It relies on mark-making. The artist knew exactly the pressure to apply, and the angle to use, to create the desired effect. Look closely, and you can almost feel the scratch of the graphite across the page. This quality gets us to the heart of drawing’s appeal. It’s a direct link to the artist’s hand. You might even call it a form of manual labor, translated into an image. Appreciating the skill involved invites us to value all forms of making, whether traditionally considered art or not.