Three women at a market stall 1906

Paula Modersohn-Becker made this drawing of three women at a market stall, on paper, with charcoal. I love the openness of this drawing; it's all about how the marks come together. There's such an economy of line, Modersohn-Becker just lets the charcoal do its thing. Look at the way she captures the figures with these scribbled lines, how the lines suggest volume and form without ever fully closing. It's like she's inviting us to participate in the act of seeing. The texture of the paper is so present, like it's breathing beneath the marks. And the way the charcoal smudges and blends, it gives everything this dreamy, ethereal quality. It feels like a memory, or a fleeting impression. There's a beautiful looseness to it that reminds me of the drawings of Käthe Kollwitz; both artists share this raw, honest approach to depicting the everyday. The beauty of art is it can just be a sketch, just be an idea, still in progress.