Berglandschap en een meer Possibly 1858 - 1859

Johannes Tavenraat made this drawing of a mountain landscape and a lake sometime in the 19th century, using graphite on paper. The quick, light strokes suggest that this was made on site; a fleeting impression, captured with minimal means. We might think about graphite itself, a material mined from the earth, processed into rods, and then applied to the paper. It is a relatively inexpensive material, reflecting the democratizing influence of industrial production on the arts. Consider the labor involved, not just Tavenraat's, but also the anonymous workers who extracted and processed the graphite and manufactured the paper. The drawing speaks to the accessibility of art-making in an era of expanding industrial capitalism, a far cry from the laborious, artisanal processes of earlier eras. This unassuming sketch invites us to consider the social and economic context of art-making. It shows how everyday materials and techniques can offer profound insights into the relationship between art, labor, and consumption.