Paard en wagen met jagers en honden op een landweg 1839

This drawing of a horse and wagon with hunters and dogs on a country road was made by Johannes Tavenraat, probably in the 1830s, using graphite on paper. The immediate impression is one of lightness and speed. This isn't just because of the subject matter, a hunting party on the move. It has just as much to do with the artist's technique. Graphite, even more than ink, lends itself to the rapid notation of observed reality. The marks are wonderfully direct. You can see the artist working quickly to capture the scene before him. The thinness of the graphite lines gives the whole composition an ethereal quality. It’s interesting to consider that a sketch like this may have been preparatory to a more elaborate composition, perhaps in painting. But in its own way, it stands alone as a beautiful and complete expression. The immediacy of drawing allows us to appreciate Tavenraat’s skill and the way he has captured a specific moment in time. It challenges any firm distinction between artwork and pure craft.