Kopf Frau Louise Bauer I 1927

This is Ernst Ludwig Kirchner's 'Kopf Frau Louise Bauer I', an etching, and what a beauty! Check out the frenetic mark making, a cross-hatching that seems to simultaneously build and dissolve the form. Kirchner is so good at using the starkness of black and white to create an emotionally charged space, the lines are almost like exposed nerves. Look closely at the way he renders the eyes – dark, intense, a little haunting. There's this incredible balance between control and letting go, a real sense of immediacy. It reminds me of some of the drawings by Egon Schiele, that same kind of raw, unflinching gaze. With this one, I think Kirchner shows us that a portrait can be more than just a likeness. It can be a window into the soul, a record of a fleeting moment, or even a mirror reflecting our own anxieties and desires. Art, after all, is just an ongoing conversation, a constant questioning, without any final answers.