Upnor Castle 

Editor: Here we have "Upnor Castle," an ink drawing, potentially an etching, it seems. It’s all about lines and creating texture and depth using only those means, almost like a topographical survey. What formal qualities stand out to you in this landscape drawing? Curator: Indeed. The artist displays a keen interest in linearity. Notice the dominance of line to delineate form, to construct shadow. The trees, for instance, are not depicted in mass but as a network of lines, their density varying to create tonal differences. Note, also, the strategic placement of the buildings and fortifications; the composition emphasizes the geometrical relationship between man-made structures and nature, mediated via an economy of line and an interesting flatness of pictorial space. Editor: It’s very two-dimensional, you’re right. Almost like a diagram, despite clearly depicting a scene. Is this flatness a feature of drawings in this period? Curator: It invites us to consider not only the 'what' but the 'how'. The simplification of form directs attention to the graphic qualities of the medium. Are we looking at a depiction of Upnor Castle or a study in the art of drawing? How does the artist use hatching and cross-hatching to create an illusion of depth, while simultaneously reinforcing the picture plane? These are key considerations. Editor: That really gives me a new way of looking at what a drawing can do – how it's not *just* a window to a real place. Thank you. Curator: Precisely. The interplay between representation and abstraction invites contemplation on the very act of seeing.