Man's Head with Nude 1908

Ernst Ludwig Kirchner made this print, 'Man's Head with Nude', with lithographic crayon; it's now at the Art Institute of Chicago. Look at how he builds the image with these almost scribbly marks, and how he doesn't belabor the point – you can really feel the speed and energy of the process. There's a kind of roughness here, a directness to the crayon on the stone, that I find so compelling. It’s not about perfection but about getting something down, capturing a feeling or an idea in the moment. Notice the contrast between the heavy, dark lines that define the man's face and the softer, more blurred lines of the nude figure. It's like he's playing with focus, with what's present and what's just a fleeting thought. It reminds me a little of Munch, actually, in the way it conveys a sense of inner turmoil and psychological intensity. But Kirchner’s mark-making is all his own, that constant play between representation and abstraction, and the way he leaves space for interpretation. For me, the best art always leaves room for a little bit of mystery.