Osteri ved Ponte Salare 1846

Johan Thomas Lundbye created this drawing of Osteri ved Ponte Salare using pen, ink, and watercolor. Notice the materiality of the building itself, stone laid upon stone, block upon block, and consider the labor involved in quarrying, transporting, and assembling such a structure. Look closely at the artist’s rendering of the stones. Lundbye uses hatching and cross-hatching to depict the weight and texture of the rough-hewn surfaces, and to model the effects of light and shadow. The layering of these fine lines also mimics the slow, cumulative process of building. Although this drawing appears to be a straightforward depiction of architecture, it subtly references issues of labor and class. In its close attention to materials, making, and context, Lundbye’s Osteri ved Ponte Salare challenges traditional distinctions between fine art and craft.