Allegorisch-mythologische scène 1752 - 1819

Jurriaan Andriessen created this allegorical scene with pen and brown ink, accentuating it with a brown wash, sometime in the late 18th century. The effect is immediate, even stark. Andriessen has made every mark count. The lines are economical, yet they convey depth, shadow, and most importantly, emotion. Take the figures at right. A mother clutches her child, while others recoil, their faces etched with fear. All of this from a few deftly applied strokes. The materiality of ink on paper lends itself well to such expressiveness. Think of calligraphy, or musical notation: in the right hands, a simple notation can evoke an entire world. Andriessen was a master of decorative painting, often working at a large scale. But this drawing shows that he was equally adept at capturing the human drama in miniature. It bridges the gap between the monumental and the intimate.