Kristus og den samaritanske kvinde 1919

Joakim Skovgaard made this drawing with ink on paper; I imagine him hunched over his desk, in 1919, carefully hatching the lines that bring this scene to life. The figures, Christ and the Samaritan woman, emerge from a landscape rendered in simple yet expressive strokes. You can almost feel the scratch of the pen, see the artist figuring out the form and volume, trying to capture the weight of the moment. He uses hatching to give form to their robes, the well, and the sky above, creating a sense of depth and shadow with such limited means. It makes me think about the conversation Skovgaard is having with other artists through this work. How does he see other ink drawings and sketches? What did he want to capture, and how did he make his decisions? Ultimately, it’s in the openness of the lines, the way they suggest rather than define, that the drawing finds its power, allowing us to bring our own interpretations to this timeless encounter.