Director Ludvig Didrichsen 1916

Edvard Munch made this drawing of Director Ludvig Didrichsen with crayon on paper. Look at the frenetic, searching lines, like the artist is trying to pin down not just a likeness but also a feeling. I sympathize with Munch, trying to capture a person's essence. It’s not easy. You are looking, thinking, trying to translate a three-dimensional, moving, breathing person onto a flat surface. He seems to have labored over the jacket, filling the form with these dark scribbles that suggest the weight and texture of the fabric. The face is less worked, more open, as if Munch wanted to leave space for the viewer to project their own understanding of the Director. Doesn’t it remind you of other portrait drawings, like Picasso’s or Giacometti's? There’s something about the directness, the rawness of the medium, that allows the artist to get closer to the subject. It's like they are all in conversation, sharing ideas across time, inspiring each other's creativity.