Seated Female Nude, Turned to the Right 

Mark Rothko made this sketch of a seated female nude using graphite on paper, but when, exactly, we don't know. Graphite as a medium is interesting here, as it is the most basic element of drawing. You could even say it is the first and last material you need to make a drawing. It's also the same material used in cheap pencils for mass consumption. The seeming disposability of the medium has implications for the work's aura. The smudging of the graphite is a direct result of the artist's touch, rubbing the medium onto the page, and blurring the precision of lines. We sense an immediacy, as if it were a fleeting study rather than a precious finished work. Ultimately, the directness of materials and making compels us to see the beauty of the work in its purest form, rather than through artifice. We appreciate the physical gestures required to produce the drawing. It challenges the distinction between high art and craft.