Leander og Leonora, bag dem Henrik og Pernille 1810 - 1873

This is a pen and ink drawing by Wilhelm Marstrand, depicting figures in period costume. It’s a study, a quick sketch done in preparation for a painting or perhaps an etching. What I find compelling here is the directness of the mark-making. Marstrand has used the simple technology of pen and ink to render the scene. The pressure and speed of his hand are all we need to understand the forms and their relative importance. Note, for instance, how the artist scumbles the shadows and architectural details in the background, leaving the main figures crisply articulated. In its immediacy, a drawing like this gives us direct access to the artist’s thought process. We can see his confidence in his chosen medium and technique. And because it's a relatively inexpensive mode of art making, drawing has often been taken up as a means of resistance, or at least independence, from the marketplace. It’s a democratic medium.