Siegfried erschlägt den Drachen 

This drawing of Siegfried slaying the dragon was created by Carl Friedrich von Stralendorff using graphite on paper. Graphite, a form of carbon, is the very stuff of ordinary pencils, allowing for a remarkable degree of control in the artist’s hand. Here, that control is evident in the subtle gradations of tone, especially in the rendering of the dragon’s scales and the folds of Siegfried’s clothing. The artist has clearly mastered the techniques of shading and perspective, creating a dynamic scene with a great sense of depth. While the subject matter – a heroic scene from Germanic mythology – might seem far removed from everyday life, the choice of graphite as a medium connects it to the world of labor and mass production. Graphite is, after all, a material that has been used for centuries in both artistic and industrial contexts, from surveying to shipbuilding. Looking closely at Stralendorff's image, we can appreciate the artist’s skill in manipulating this humble material to create a work of great beauty and power. It reminds us that even the most ordinary of substances can be transformed into something extraordinary through the skill and imagination of an artist.