Doorsnede van een gebouw c. 1864

Willem Springer Jr.’s “Doorsnede van een gebouw” is rendered in graphite and colored pencil on paper. These are, of course, traditional art materials, but here they're used in a technical drawing. Springer uses line work to describe the architectural details, and pink pencil to highlight certain structural elements. The building, cut in half, reveals its interior structure, reminiscent of a dollhouse, exposing the inner framework of beams and supports that underpin the external appearance. Springer trained as an architect and also as a draughtsman, and this drawing is more closely linked to the traditions of architectural rendering than those of fine art. The drawing isn’t just a representation; it’s a proposal, readying an idea for construction. This kind of work depends on skilled labor, both the labor of planning and design, and the more strenuous labor of building. When you look at an architectural drawing, think not only of the finished building, but all that human activity contained in the vision.