Diogenes 1903

Oluf Hartmann's "Diogenes" is a small, dark etching - a whole world conjured from tiny, precise marks. It's amazing to think about the artist bent over this plate, scratching away with a needle, building up these shadowy figures. You can feel the pressure, the focus, the sheer labor of coaxing an image out of darkness. What was Hartmann thinking? Maybe about the philosopher Diogenes' infamous rejection of societal norms, rendered here as a huddled mass of bodies, both repulsed and fascinated. The figures emerge, not with bold strokes, but with a kind of hesitant energy, as if they're being revealed slowly. They're not solid, but shimmering with potential. It reminds me of Goya’s darker prints, that same feeling of unease and the human condition. Hartmann had a short life, dying at just 31, so it is intriguing to think about the body of work he might have left behind if he had lived longer.