Abgesägter Nadelbaum bei Starnberg 27 - 1865

Fritz Bamberger made this drawing of a sawn-down fir tree near Starnberg using graphite on paper. It's a humble combination of materials, yet consider the labor embedded within. The production of graphite pencils involved mining, refining, and shaping, all manual tasks at this time. Even paper making, before industrialization, was incredibly labor intensive; rags gathered, pulped, dried, and pressed. Each line, each stroke on this page represents a transfer of Bamberger's vision to a wider network of making. And the drawing itself has a close relationship with the natural resources it depicts. The felled tree is an indication of timber production - a market economy imposing itself on the landscape. Bamberger's choice to portray this scene underscores his awareness of the relationship between labor, materials, and our ever-changing environment. The drawing serves as a reminder that even the simplest art materials and subjects are connected to broader social, economic, and ecological narratives.