Den upåpasselige fangevogter 1870 - 1873

Wilhelm Marstrand created this drawing, "The Inopportune Jailer," with graphite and ink on paper. The wispy quality comes from the media itself, a preliminary sketch rather than a finished painting. The artist made quick marks to capture the emotional moment, where prisoners escape as a distressed woman looks on. Marstrand was trained in the academic tradition, but we can still see the labor involved in the hatching and cross-hatching that define the forms. This was, after all, the foundation of any finished artwork. The drawing's materiality allows a glimpse into the artist's process, making tangible the act of creation. Considering the drawing's context we can appreciate that, even in preliminary form, it represents many hours of skilled work. The drawing reminds us that even the grandest paintings have humble beginnings in the artist's studio, a nexus of labor, skill, and intention.