Adolph Menzel (1815-1905) was a German artist whose eminence shone brightest in the later years of the 19th century. His renown was at its maximum when he painted famous historical scenes on canvas, the flicks and motions of his brush being lavishly lauded everywhere in Germany. With his fine brush he consumed pots of oil and puddles of watercolor, but Menzel was a painter who favored the pencil over the brush. It was the potential of the pencil that deeply captivated him. He wanted to know what a tool of its simplicity could create.