A Sleeping Swine 1650 - 1672

Adriaen van de Velde created this drawing, *A Sleeping Swine*, using graphite on paper. Immediately, the gentle curves and soft shading draw the eye, creating a sense of serene repose. The pig’s body fills much of the composition, its form rendered with delicate, almost caressing lines. Van de Velde's attention to the texture of the pig's coarse hair, achieved through subtle variations in pressure and direction of the graphite, invites a tactile, sensory experience. The animal's posture, collapsed and vulnerable, engages us, prompting questions about nature, domestication, and representation. The drawing can be understood through a semiotic lens. The sleeping pig, typically a symbol of gluttony or uncleanliness, is here transformed into an object of quiet beauty. This subversion of conventional signs asks us to reconsider our preconceived notions and to find value in the overlooked. Van de Velde's artistic skill, apparent in the masterful use of line and tone, elevates the mundane into the extraordinary.