The Search for an Inn 1862

Charles François Daubigny made this drawing, "The Search for an Inn," with pen and brown ink on paper. It’s a simple piece, really, capturing a fleeting moment. The stark lines of the drawing emphasize the inherent qualities of the medium – the ink bleeding slightly into the paper. Daubigny was a skilled landscape painter, so why this rapid sketch? Well, drawing was essential to nineteenth century artistic practice, used to fix the artist's observations and impressions. Think of it as a craftsman’s study, rather than a finished artwork, an immediate way of marking a thought. In the end, by observing this work, we are reminded of the labor and skill involved in the artistic process. Here, the intersection of material, making, and social context invites us to look beyond traditional notions of high art.