Sitting woman 1975

Hryhorii Havrylenko made this drawing of a seated woman, sometime in the last century, with ink on paper. What a simple, elegant line. I can imagine the artist, pen in hand, circling the figure, trying to find the key lines that capture the essence of her posture and mood. The work seems so assured; the economy of line is masterful, each stroke defining form, shadow, and a sense of interiority. I wonder if it came quickly, in one inspired sitting, or if Havrylenko labored over each contour, adjusting and refining until he achieved this perfect balance of line and space. Her head is slightly bowed, her gaze introspective, as if lost in thought. There's a vulnerability in her posture, a quiet strength in the way she holds herself. I keep thinking about Matisse's drawings, how he pursued a similar reduction to form. These artists, across time and space, are in conversation with one another, pushing the boundaries of representation and expression.