Portrait of Erna Wearing a Hat

Ernst Ludwig Kirchner made this drawing of Erna with ink on paper sometime in the early 20th century. The strokes are so raw and immediate, like he’s trying to capture a fleeting thought. You can really see Kirchner working through the image, not trying to get it ‘right’ but being led by the process. Look at the lines around the eyes; they’re almost frantic, so thick and dark compared to the rest of the face. It gives the impression of someone who’s seen too much, or is weighed down by something. The mouth is just a few quick strokes, almost an afterthought, which makes me think about how much we communicate without saying a word. Kirchner's work reminds me of Francis Picabia who also embraced a certain kind of roughness and immediacy in their work. Both artists invite us to embrace the incomplete and the uncertain. These artists remind us that art doesn't have to be about perfect representation but can be about feeling, about the messy reality of being human.