Man met een spade c. 1884 - 1887

Willem Witsen created this drawing with graphite on paper sometime in the late 19th or early 20th century. With just a few lines, Witsen captured a laborer digging with a spade. Though seemingly simple, the choice of graphite is significant. As an industrial material, graphite reflects the changing landscape of artistic production during Witsen’s time. Graphite pencils were increasingly common, offering artists a readily available and relatively inexpensive tool. The quick, gestural lines suggest that Witsen may have been sketching en plein air, capturing a fleeting moment of everyday life. Look at the man’s posture, bent over with exertion, and the way Witsen conveys the weight and effort of manual labor. There’s a stark contrast between the physical demands on the worker and the ease with which Witsen captured the scene. By focusing on the tools, materials, and labor involved in both the drawing and the depicted scene, we can appreciate the social context of Witsen’s work and challenge traditional notions of what constitutes fine art.