Heuvellandschap met landweg en huizen 1839

Paulus Lauters made this landscape drawing of a rural scene with graphite on paper. Graphite, essentially pencil lead, allowed for a high level of detail. Look closely, and you will notice subtle tonal variations. The drawing captures a bucolic scene, focusing on the landscape’s textures. Notice the rough, uneven surfaces of the land, contrasted with the smoother rendered walls of the buildings. Lauters used a technique called hatching, the use of closely spaced parallel lines, to build up areas of shade and form. The mark-making feels spontaneous, reflecting the artist's skill in capturing the essence of a scene through direct observation. Drawings like these played a critical role in the production of paintings, and also more broadly in the documentation of landscapes that were quickly changing during the industrial revolution. The drawing reminds us of the direct, unmediated encounter between the artist, the landscape, and the simple tools of his trade.