Staande man met kruik 1767 - 1780

Bernhard Schreuder made this drawing of a standing man with a jug sometime before 1780, using graphite on paper. Look closely, and you’ll see how the artist has used the dry, granular quality of graphite to render the scene. Notice the rough, uneven texture of the paper that the artist chose, which adds a tactile quality to the image. The drawing process itself—the repetitive mark-making—suggests a kind of labor. This mirrors the labor of the figure depicted, who seems to be pausing from work, perhaps taking a drink. Consider, too, the social context. Graphite, though seemingly humble, became widely available due to industrialization. The paper was also mass-produced. Schreuder’s choice of these materials speaks to the changing landscape of artistic production, where traditional distinctions between fine art and everyday life were becoming increasingly blurred. We can see the dignity of labor, and the democratizing potential of accessible materials.