Wagenwiel en zeilboten 1848 - 1888

Anton Mauve sketched Wagenwiel en zeilboten, or, Wagon Wheel and Sailboats, with graphite on paper sometime in the 19th century. The graphite marks are quick and light, with soft grey lines. They are suggestive of forms rather than descriptive of them. Mauve was deeply engaged with depicting rural life, but what I find interesting here is the speed and efficiency of the marks. He wasn’t interested in a highly finished study, but rather in quickly capturing a sense of motion and form. We get a sense of the wagon’s labor through the thick lines and circular form, contrasting with the lightness of the sailboats. In this way, the contrast between the weight of labor and the freedom of the sea is emphasized, all through the variation in the artist’s own hand.