Landschap met een huis en bomen c. 1909s

Alexander Shilling made this landscape sketch with graphite pencil on paper. These are modest materials, common to many artists, and indeed accessible to pretty much anyone. But consider what Shilling has done with them. The graphite's dark, almost bruised tonality against the bright paper is key. See how the artist allows the pencil’s marks to remain visible, even raw? He is not trying to create a perfect illusion, but rather to capture the feeling of being in this landscape, with the light filtering through the leaves and branches. The double-page spread of the sketchbook format is also important. It makes us aware of the artwork as an intimate, handheld object. This is not a grand painting meant for display in a palace, but an impression jotted down in the field. By emphasizing the immediacy of the sketch, Shilling asks us to value the direct experience of the artist. He elevates this humble process to the level of high art.