The surrealist technique of rubbing a pencil over paper on a textured surface is frottage.
The method involves placing paper over a rough or patterned object and rubbing its surface with a pencil, crayon, or another drawing tool. The resulting marks reveal the texture beneath, often producing suggestive shapes that an artist can develop into a larger image.
German artist Max Ernst developed frottage in 1925 after noticing patterns in the grain of an old wooden floor. He used the accidental forms as starting points for imaginative drawings, aligning the process with Surrealism’s interest in chance, automatic creation, and freeing the unconscious imagination.
Frottage is often confused with grattage. Frottage transfers texture onto paper through rubbing, whereas grattage generally involves scraping paint from a prepared canvas. Collage, by contrast, assembles separate materials or images rather than recording a surface texture.