Drawing Analysis

This perspective drawing is entitled “Terezin: Work Brigade” (1943) drawn by Leo Haas, an occupant of the Terezin work camp during World War 2. It depicts a work brigade leaving the camp to begin their labor for the day. The medium is ink wash and pen on paper. The drawing is composed of contour lines that appear to be drawn with pen then shaded with ink wash. There is a range of values that are lightest in the foreground figures then get progressively darker as the figures recede into the background. The horizon line is located toward the top of the work, indicating that the workers may be travelling down a hill. The proximity of the foreground figures is intimate and familiar. Despite the conditions, the workers all appear relatively happy and ready to start the day. This may indicate optimism, perseverance or hope for the future. The people are overlapped down the line and the figures become smaller and darker so they appear to be further away in the mid and background. I would say this drawing is one-point perspective with the vanishing point located towards the upper right off of the page where the figures appear to be marching from. The shading is smooth with no hatching. The composition and detail of the people is particularly eye catching, with the eye going from front to back in the procession. The background with the scantily detailed camp and gate is intriguing and balances out the picture quite nicely. The middle ground of the drawing is occupied with the road to the left and the clustered figures to the right. The curvature and balance of this work brings to mind the yin yang symbol, which is probably not related. The composition leads the viewer to intuit that the artist is quite familiar with the subjects and identifies with them. On further reading this is indeed the case, as Mr. Haas was a fellow detainee. This drawing is well balanced compositionally, has remarkable detail and character, and successfully portrays emotion and the illusion of space. Thumbs up, Mr. Haas!