Landscape with Children in Oriental Costume 1773

Tiberius Domenikus Wocher created this drawing, "Landscape with Children in Oriental Costume," using pen and brown ink with gray wash on paper. This artwork is not about the exoticism of the east. The artist is using the material, and the wash, to mimic the effect of an etching without using the complex printmaking process. He is cleverly saving time in the production of his art. The artist would have been skilled at linear perspective, and at rendering volume and texture through the layering of wash. Note how the gray wash gives depth and atmosphere to the landscape, creating a sense of space and light. Wocher’s decision to use these materials is also significant: the drawing emphasizes the importance of skill and craft in artistic production, challenging the traditional distinctions between high art and more vernacular forms of expression. Through the careful manipulation of his materials, Wocher invites us to reconsider the value and significance of traditional art practices in a rapidly changing world.