This landscape with a waterway is a pencil drawing made by Anton Mauve. We can see that Mauve used a sketchbook, a common format that allows for quick drawings to capture a fleeting moment. Pencil as a medium lends itself to mark-making: smudging, hatching, and varying the pressure on the paper to create tonal variations. It’s inherently portable and democratic, compared to the laborious processes of painting. Though subtle, the effects of mark-making generate a rich atmosphere in this drawing. The roughness is palpable. Considering its size and the medium’s immediacy, this drawing likely served as a study. Mauve may have been experimenting with capturing the landscape’s essence to then translate it to larger, more refined paintings. The drawing reminds us that the paintings are the result of a longer process that may be a combination of different sketches, experiments, or other studies. So next time you see a finished painting, remember this sketch, and appreciate how even the simplest materials can become a direct expression of an artist’s vision.