The Vision of Joan of Arc 1865 - 1886

Eduard Jakob von Steinle made this drawing, The Vision of Joan of Arc, using graphite on paper. The apparent simplicity of the medium belies its importance: Steinle was part of a community of artists reviving early techniques like fresco, which required extensive preparatory drawings. The qualities of graphite—its ability to create subtle gradations of tone, its erasability, and its relative cheapness—made it ideal for this purpose. We can see how Steinle used these to full effect, creating a delicate, ethereal vision. Note how his even, controlled hatching describes the voluminous drapery of the figures, contrasting with the looser rendering of the landscape below. Although this drawing may seem worlds apart from the labor of agriculture and war that defined Joan of Arc’s life, it is actually deeply connected. Artists like Steinle were committed to a kind of aesthetic labor, reviving spiritual values that they felt had been lost in the modern world. This drawing represents that ideal perfectly.