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19th Century Graphite Drawings

Pencil drawings can be both quick sketches or more richly detailed works of art. Graphite allows the artist to create a range of tones and thus the dramatic effects of light and shade.

Antique graphite and fine pencil drawings; discover a piece of history in our collection of nineteenth century pencil drawings.

Pencil drawings can be both quick sketches or more richly detailed works of art. The graphite medium allows the artist to create a range of tones and thus the dramatic effects of light and shade. The highly precise graphite line can also be employed in a more expressive way through simple linearism.

In 1795 the French inventor Nicolas- Jacques Conté created a prototype for the modern pencil that could be made to vary in softness and hardness and darkness and lightness, affording the artist much greater control. The popularity of the medium grew and it became a vital tool in the artist’s studio.

Sulis Fine Art specialises in nineteenth century graphite drawings, including many old English pencil drawings, all for sale at affordable prices.