Studie voor het portret van Guillian Daniël Crommelin 1774 - 1837

This is Charles Howard Hodges’ study for the portrait of Guillian Daniël Crommelin, a pencil drawing on paper. The grid is literally built into the process here. Hodges has used it to enlarge a smaller sketch, or perhaps transfer a likeness directly from life. Notice how the pencil lines are tentative, searching for the right contour. There’s an intimacy to this work, a palpable sense of the artist at work. The paper itself is quite thin, as evidenced by the faint grid lines visible on the reverse. The drawing gives us a window into the labor involved in portraiture, a commercial activity at this time. Hodges was a successful artist, and his skill in capturing a likeness was essential to his trade. But this drawing also shows the amount of work involved in creating an image, the careful construction and layering that goes into a seemingly effortless portrait. By emphasizing the materials and methods behind the work, we can better appreciate the skill and labor involved in its creation, and challenge the traditional distinction between fine art and craft.