Measure

Cloaked, hooded figures strain together, pulling taut ropes slung over a raised wooden beam topped with a hook. At the center an elderly bearded man leans over the rim of a large curved wooden structure, watching the effort, while the straining bodies and taut cords dominate the foreground against a bare, rocky terrain.

Executed entirely in charcoal, the drawing builds form through deep blacks and soft smudged grays, with loose, energetic strokes describing straining muscles and heavy drapery. The composition's diagonal thrust and concentrated dark masses create a tense, laborious atmosphere centered on collective physical effort.