Zwei Lämmer 1908

Franz Marc made this drawing of Two Lambs sometime around the beginning of the 20th Century, probably using a graphite pencil. What I like about this drawing is the visible process of the artist searching for the lines that make up the lambs. The lambs are formed from loosely hatched marks, not quite continuous lines, a jumble of greys made from pressing the pencil on the paper. The lamb on the left is lying down, curled almost in a foetal position, the one on the right is standing, looking up at something out of shot. It’s really tender. The pencil marks are more dense in the areas that recede, giving the figures volume and depth, even though the background is barely suggested. The hatching reminds me of the work of Kathe Kollwitz, another German artist, although her work is imbued with a heavy sense of grief and loss, whereas this just feels light, like a breeze on a sunny day. Anyway, both of them seem to suggest art is a way of feeling.