"Illustration to Pilgrim's Progress 

John Flaxman made this delicate drawing around 1792, an illustration to "Pilgrim's Progress." Look closely, and you’ll see it's not just the composition that gives this work its character, but the quality of the line itself. The artist has used a quill pen with brown ink, in a minimal style which perfectly captures the story's allegorical theme. Flaxman’s focus was on the essential forms of the figures, and the narrative moment, rendered with spare economy. Although drawing is often seen as preliminary to other art forms like painting or sculpture, here it is an end in itself. Notice the evenness of the line, achieved through practiced hand and eye. The drawing's refinement is due to his skilled handling of simple tools, and invites us to appreciate the beauty inherent in the craft of drawing. It reminds us that great art doesn't always require elaborate means, but can be found in the direct, expressive potential of humble materials.