David spiller på harpe for Saul 1838

Dankvart Dreyer made this drawing of David playing the harp for Saul sometime in the first half of the 19th century, using graphite on paper. It's a traditional medium, quick and easily portable, perfect for preparatory sketches or studies. Look closely, and you can see how the qualities of graphite as a material influence the work. The artist coaxes a full range of light and shadow from the pencil, establishing the scene and the figures within it. The relative softness of the graphite stick allows for subtle gradations of tone. Drawings like this reflect the academic training that artists like Dreyer received at the time. But the ease with which graphite lends itself to quick studies also meant that it had a role in industrial design. Drawings were critical to the production process, as a way to develop and communicate ideas about objects before committing to their fabrication. Appreciating the materiality of a work like this challenges the idea that drawing is only ever in service of “high art.”