Studie van een fluitspelende man, van opzij 1685 - 1695

Francesco Trevisani made this drawing of a flute-playing man, seen from the side, using red chalk. Chalk as a material offers a directness of application. This immediacy lends the image a sense of the artist working in real-time. The texture of the chalk creates shading and form that gives life to the figures on the page. You'll notice how the artist uses the chalk to create depth and dimension through varying the pressure as he applies the media, and this use of a simple material allows for great expression and modulation. The process of drawing and sketching has historically been seen as preliminary to more ‘finished’ forms of art making like painting or sculpture. But I would argue that this drawing is an artwork in and of itself. The value is not simply in the final product, but also in the labor, time, and skill involved in the physical act of drawing, and the inherent qualities of a raw material such as chalk.