The Last Drop (from McGuire Scrapbook)
Original title: The Last Drop (from McGuire Scrapbook)
kurzbeschreibung
A human figure lies on the ground, surrendered or dying, filling the sheet by Emanuel Leutze. Executed in iron gall ink and graphite on thin green letterpress paper, the drawing belongs to the McGuire Sketchbook. When it was made is not recorded.
Description
Along the lower edge of the sheet lies a human figure whose posture hovers between exhaustion and extinction. Around it runs a dense web of strokes and brush traces reminiscent of gnarled wood. The lines vary in strength and direction, creating a crowded, almost frantic structure. Grays dominate the image; sculptural light is absent. At the bottom, in simple handwriting, stands the title 'The Last Drop'.
Context
Leutze, born in 1816 and died in 1868, was a German-American painter whose fame rests chiefly on the history painting 'Washington Crossing the Delaware'. This sheet comes from the McGuire Sketchbook, a collection of the artist's studies. Exactly when the drawing was made cannot be determined; Leutze's main period of activity was in the mid-nineteenth century. It already reveals the expressive streak that also marks his paintings.
Impact
The nervous, urgent strokes and the twisted position of the figure combine into a sense of oppression that hardly lets the viewer go. The way the reclining figure is set against the proliferating thicket of lines heightens the feeling of helplessness and hopelessness. There is no calm anywhere in this sheet.
Technique
Iron gall ink and graphite were used on thin green wove letterpress paper. Ink and pencil together allow a graded scale of grays. The irregular strokes betray a rapid, sketch-like approach.
AI-generated description text
Source: Metropolitan Museum of Art · Public Domain (CC0 1.0)