The Chapter House, Toledo Cathedral c. 1903

This is Joseph Pennell's "The Chapter House, Toledo Cathedral" a drawing done with crayon. And right away you notice his strokes are not trying to copy exactly what's in front of him, right? There's this sense of movement, almost like he's trying to capture the feeling of the space as much as how it looks. Look at the way he's used the crayon, sometimes pressing hard for those dark lines, other times just a soft, smudgy grey. This is an artist unafraid to get his hands dirty. He doesn't fuss too much about the details. It's all about the mood, the shadows, the light filtering through those arches. See how the lines around the doorway are kind of scratchy? It gives it this feeling of age, like the building has been there for centuries. Think about Piranesi. It's like Pennell is inviting us to wander through history with him, not worrying too much about precision, but really feeling the weight of the past.