Study for the oil painting, "The Nativity"
1910
From the collection of Victoria and Albert Museum
1910
From the collection of Victoria and Albert Museum
This sketch shows a dark, shadowy figure sitting on the ground, hunched over. The background is filled with thick, scratchy lines that make it look rough and textured, almost like bark or stone. The figure’s face is blurred, and their hands are wrapped around their knees. The artist used tiny, repeated lines to build up the shadows and shapes—this is called *cross-hatching*. It gives the whole drawing a grainy, almost tactile feel, like you could run your fingers over it. Check out more of cross-hatching to see how artists create depth with just lines.
