[title not known] 1803 - 1805

Curator: This landscape study is by Joshua Cristall, dating back to July 1805. It's currently held at the Tate. Editor: I'm struck by the rawness of it, the immediacy. It’s clearly a study in graphite, and the visible marks tell a story of the artist's hand moving swiftly across the paper. Curator: Indeed. The skeletal structure of the landscape is laid bare. Cristall's rendering of the rocks is especially interesting; they possess a rhythmic quality, guiding the eye through the composition. Editor: I see the initial marks of the land before it gets consumed as material for another piece. You can see the process is what Cristall values in this piece. Curator: Do you think that Cristall intended it to be a final work? Editor: Perhaps not, but it’s still visually compelling. It lets us examine the origins of this landscape piece and the materials of its creation. Curator: A compelling insight into the materials and methods of the artist.