Lying cattle to the left 

Friedrich Wilhelm Hirt made this drawing, Lying Cattle to the Left, with pen and brown ink on paper. The relative ease of this medium has made drawing a favorite among artists for centuries, especially for preparatory sketches, or informal studies. Here, the quick, efficient marks, the economy of line, and the lack of shading, all suggest the artist was more interested in capturing the likeness of the subject than in creating a finished work. The resulting image is far from polished, even crude, and that is part of its charm. The paper and ink allow for the image to carry a sense of spontaneity and directness that we might not associate with other mediums. The drawing may seem simple, but the artist's skillful hand, the material qualities, and the cultural context, give it a richness that goes beyond mere representation. We are reminded that even the humblest of materials, in the hands of a skilled practitioner, can yield profound insight.