Bosrand 1913 - 1915

Jan Mankes made this drawing, Bosrand, using what looks like pencil on paper. It's all about the process, right? You can almost feel him building up the image, line by line, to create the density and depth of the forest edge. Look at how the pencil marks create different textures. There are scribbly, chaotic areas, especially in the foreground, where the undergrowth seems to explode with life. But then, your eye travels up to the smooth trunks of the trees. It’s like Mankes is showing us the world in layers, from the wildness at our feet to the quiet strength of the trees reaching up. And notice that building, almost disappearing into the shrubbery. It is like the artist is asking the question what we choose to see, and what we choose to hide. Mankes's drawing reminds me a bit of the landscapes of early modernists like Paula Modersohn-Becker, who also found beauty in the everyday. Both artists are interested in simplicity, but not in a boring way. More that they embrace ambiguity. There are no easy answers, just a lot of looking and feeling.