Garden House 1909

F. L. Griggs made this drawing of a Garden House with pencil on paper. Look at the way he's built up the image, layer upon layer of tiny marks. It's like he's constructing the scene piece by piece. Those hedges, for example, are like solid walls, meticulously hatched, and almost vibrating with texture. And then there's the stonework of the house itself, rendered with such care. The light seems to bounce off the surfaces, giving a real sense of depth. I'm drawn to the small window, right at the front of the house. It's a dark void, but surrounded by so much fine detail. It makes you want to peer inside, to see what secrets the garden house holds. You could compare this to the work of someone like Piranesi, another artist who was fascinated by architectural spaces and the play of light and shadow. Art is a conversation, after all, with each artist building on the work of those who came before.