Untitled
1961
graphite
From the collection of Museum of Modern Art
1961
graphite
From the collection of Museum of Modern Art
This drawing is packed with overlapping shapes and lines. You see a crowd of people—some standing, some sitting—all tangled together in a busy scene. There are trees, buildings, and what looks like a streetlamp, but everything is simplified into sharp angles and rough pencil strokes. The artist used tiny, repeated lines to build up shadows and textures, making the whole scene feel dense. It’s like the drawing is breathing with all the activity. Next, look up cross-hatching to see how artists use layers of lines like this.