Dædalus og Ikarus 1905

Oluf Hartmann made this small print, Dædalus og Ikarus, at some point before 1910. The image is almost like a charcoal drawing, rendered with soft marks and tonal gradations in earthy blacks and greys. It feels intimate, as if he built the image up slowly, caressing the surface with the charcoal. Look at how he’s suggested the figures emerging from the dark shadows. Everything feels very raw, like he’s captured a moment from a half-remembered dream. The texture of the paper comes through, adding to the ghostly effect. I'm particularly drawn to the way the light catches Ikarus' back, see how the artist has used the charcoal almost like a dry brush to create an impression of bone and sinew beneath the skin. Hartmann was a contemporary of Edvard Munch, and you can see a similar interest in psychologically charged themes. Both artists were trying to get at something beyond representation, reaching for an inner truth. It’s a reminder that art is a space of possibility, where we can play with ideas and create our own versions of reality.