Strandlandschaft mit Badenden (Seascape with Bathers) [p. 1] 

Max Beckmann made this sketch of bathers on a beach, using graphite on paper. Graphite, of course, is pure carbon, an element found widely in nature, but here mined and processed for industrial production. It's a quick study, a record of forms and figures, but the method of production is worth considering. Beckmann used readily-available materials to generate an image of leisure. Note the contrast with the graphite itself, obtained through industrial labor. We might wonder, too, about the relationship between the artist's work, and that of the laborers who facilitate the scene depicted: the unseen hands that made the bathing machines, boats, and perhaps even the fashionable clothing worn by those on the beach. Paying attention to the materials and the making of this piece brings forward these sorts of considerations, which are often overlooked when considering 'high art.'