Landschap in Gelderland of Overijssel 1777

Jean Grandjean made this landscape in Gelderland or Overijssel using pen and brush in grey ink. It is on paper, a widely available ground for drawing at the time, but here it acts almost like canvas. The drawing captures a rural scene, with a rider on horseback, a horse-drawn cart, and modest dwellings nestled amongst dense trees. What’s fascinating is how Grandjean uses the qualities of ink and paper to build up depth and texture. Look at the foliage, rendered with countless tiny strokes, creating a sense of density. Then there's the subtle gradations of tone, achieved through layering and blending. The level of detail suggests painstaking labor, a slow accretion of marks, and the image itself offers insight into social structure. The presence of figures engaged in labor and leisure speak to the social fabric of the Dutch countryside, with a touch of the ruling classes on horseback passing through the farmlands. This drawing is not just a record of a place, but a testament to the way of making, where humble materials are transformed through time and skill into something far beyond the sum of their parts.