Kvadreret udkast til et strandlandskab med skov næsten ned til bredden, hvor man ser tre børn, en fjerde er vadet i vandet. 1817 - 1875

This squared sketch of a beach landscape with forest was made by P.C. Skovgaard, using graphite on paper. The blue paper serves as a base tone, enlivening the graphite lines that build up the image. You can see that Skovgaard uses a grid to structure his composition, a technique common in preparatory sketches. He would have used a stylus to indent guidelines for the grid. The layering of graphite in this landscape creates depth and texture, from the dense forest to the figures on the beach, and the child wading in the water. The marks seem quickly done, but consider how much practice would be required to master this technique. The labor here is not of production, but of observation, practice, and skill. Skovgaard challenges our conventional notions of art, emphasizing the skill and labor involved in creating what appears simple and effortless.