Schaapskop 1842 - 1908

Johannes Hubertus Leonardus de Haas created this drawing of a sheep’s head using pencil and charcoal. The softness of these materials allows him to capture the animal’s woolly texture and gentle form. Look closely, and you'll notice the artist uses the side of the charcoal stick to create broad areas of shadow. The pencil then defines the contours and finer details, like the creases around the sheep's eye. The drawing is softly smudged, giving it a hazy, dreamlike quality. Drawings like this are usually considered studies, made in preparation for a painting. But it is important to note that the raising of livestock, including sheep, was becoming increasingly industrialized in de Haas's time. This drawing is both an intimate study of animal form and a reflection on the changing landscape of agricultural labour. It reminds us that even a humble sketch can carry a profound social message.