To udkast til "Dreng, der planter" ("Hoppat"), foroven to kvindehoveder 1904 - 1909

This sketch, "To udkast til "Dreng, der planter" ("Hoppat"), foroven to kvindehoveder," was made by Karl Isakson at an unknown date, using pencil on paper. You can really feel Isakson working through ideas, playing with composition. I love how the figures are rendered with such simplicity, just a few strokes to capture a whole gesture. Look at the contrast between the solid shading of the child on the left, and the tentative outlines of the figure to the right. It’s like watching the artist think. The lines feel so free, as though he's trying to find the right expression. There’s something really intimate about seeing the artist’s process so laid bare. It reminds me a bit of Paula Modersohn-Becker, with that same kind of directness and sensitivity in capturing human form. Like her, Isakson shows us that art is a conversation, a way of seeing and feeling that keeps evolving.