Akaky Akakiyevich visiting Petrovich 1905

Boris Kustodiev made this drawing, Akaky Akakiyevich visiting Petrovich, using pencil and paper. Look at the marks, the pure graphic quality of the shading which builds up the forms. The drawing feels unfinished somehow, like a study for a painting or a set design, the texture of the hatched pencil marks left visible rather than blended smooth. I like the way the light falls on the voluminous folds of the fabric on the table, and how the artist has used the white of the paper to create highlights in the folds. The surface has a rough, almost gritty quality, contrasting with the soft, rounded forms of the figures. The dense hatching creates a sense of depth and volume, while also suggesting a kind of nervous energy. There's something about Kustodiev's work that reminds me of Kathe Kollwitz, both artists able to find humanity in the everyday. With drawing, it is often not about what is represented but the act of making itself.