Huis van Hendrik Busserus op de Haarlemmerdijk 1773

Hendrik van Hilten made this drawing of the Huis van Hendrik Busserus on the Haarlemmerdijk using pen and brown ink, with a grey wash. Although the artist depicts a scene from everyday life, it is the precise and detailed rendering of the architecture that commands our attention. Think about the physical labor that went into the making of the house: the bricklaying, the carpentry, the glasswork. Even in this drawing, you can sense the weight and density of the materials. This is a study in labor and class; in the architecture of the buildings and the figures of the two men in conversation. We can consider the drawing itself as a kind of labor, requiring the same kind of precision and skill as the making of a building, which has a direct impact on how the work is perceived. Paying attention to the materials, the making, and the social context allows us to understand the drawing, and the building it depicts, in new and important ways, challenging the traditional distinctions between fine art, craft, and the everyday.