Figuur op een landweg en een meisje met hond before 1904

This artwork was made by Willem Wenckebach and is comprised of two drawings, crafted with pen in brown and black ink, and brush in gray ink, on paper. These traditional artistic materials have been used to depict a young girl and her dog on a country path. But while the subject is a well-to-do young lady, the method of its creation is equally important to consider. The drawings are simple, immediate, quickly drafted. The use of paper and ink, though common in art history, also connects to a broader world of material culture - one that relates to mass production and consumption. They might be book illustrations, offering a visual escape for the rising middle class. Ultimately, these drawings remind us that all works of art, regardless of their apparent subject matter, are inextricably linked to the social and economic context in which they were produced, challenging any strict divide between art and illustration.