Men Pulling Ropes c. 1876

This drawing, by John Singer Sargent, is made with graphite on paper. Sargent captures a scene of manual labor. The figures, sketched with quick, confident lines, are engaged in the act of pulling ropes, their bodies bent and strained with effort. You can almost feel the weight and tension of the ropes. The graphite, a humble material, lends itself perfectly to this kind of rapid, documentary image. The drawing is not just a record of work, but an acknowledgement of the physical demands of labor. The scene evokes a sense of human energy and the raw physicality of work, particularly in contrast with the world of fine art that Sargent usually inhabited. Paying attention to materials and making, we realize that even a simple sketch like this has a complex relationship to labor, class, and the social world. It challenges any easy distinction between "high" art and the everyday experience of working people.