Brug in een berglandschap 1874 - 1875

Willem Cornelis Rip made this drawing of a bridge in a mountain landscape, using graphite on paper. At first glance, this looks like a casual sketch, a preliminary study for a painting perhaps. But consider the amount of work implied by the composition. Look closely and you’ll notice the artist has meticulously rendered the forms and textures of the landscape. The soft gradations of tone suggest a keen understanding of light and shadow, coaxed from the graphite using various techniques, from hatching to smudging. It’s a traditional approach, relying on keen observation and skilled handwork. Notice how Rip uses the qualities of graphite – its subtlety, its capacity for detail – to capture the ruggedness of the mountain terrain and the delicate structure of the bridge. This speaks to the material's unique capacity to capture the world around us. Ultimately, this drawing prompts us to think about the labor involved in creating art, and the ways in which artists translate their vision through the act of drawing.