Kasteel 't Weldam bij Goor 1761 - 1828

Joseph Adolf Schmetterling made this drawing of Kasteel ‘t Weldam bij Goor with pen and watercolor. The artist would have begun by carefully laying down the image in pencil, before tracing over it in ink. The thinness of the lines speaks to a light touch, the product of considerable training. Then comes the application of watercolor, brushed on in transparent washes. Look at the way Schmetterling suggests the building's form with a minimum of shading, while the trees are treated with even less detail. This is image-making at the service of efficient communication. Such a drawing was not necessarily considered a work of art in its own right, but a means to record and transmit information. The even-handed, precise manner suggests a professional at work. The rise of artists like Schmetterling was driven by a growing demand for visual documentation and communication. It is an aesthetic that arose directly from the culture of commerce.