Heilige familie met Johannes de Doper en Elizabeth 1540 - 1560

This drawing of the Holy Family with John the Baptist and Elizabeth was made by an anonymous artist on paper, using pen and brown ink. The artist has deftly worked the medium to create tonal variety across the work. Look closely at the hatching; it is built up in layers, using parallel lines to build up shadows and give the figures depth. It is a labor-intensive technique that would have required careful observation and control of the pen, moving in one direction to create areas of shade and volume. The artist's skilled draftsmanship is evident in the way the ink lines define form and volume. It is important to think about this process, and the time taken to produce it, when thinking about our understanding of the drawing. The focus on line and shading, together with the anonymous status of the artist, invites us to consider the relationship between artistic skill, labor, and cultural significance, rather than traditional distinctions between fine art and craft.