Liggende geit 1780 - 1855

Jan Dasveldt created this drawing of a goat with graphite on paper, sometime before his death in 1855. At first glance, it might seem to be a simple rendering of rural life. But think about the material: graphite, essentially just a form of carbon, is extracted from the earth. Paper, in this era, would have been made by pulping cellulose fibers, often linen rags. Both imply labor, extraction, processing. The soft, granular quality of the graphite allows Dasveldt to create subtle gradations of tone, giving the goat a sense of volume and weight. You can almost feel the animal's coarse hair. It's worth noting that Dasveldt was not only an artist, but also an art dealer, so he was acutely aware of the marketplace that gave value to these images, and all the economies and cultural associations that came with it. The value of this work lies not just in its aesthetic qualities, but also in the complex web of making, materials, and social context that it embodies.