Head of a Woman 1909

Ernst Ludwig Kirchner made this drawing of a woman's head with chalky pastels. The marks are bold and immediate, like he was trying to capture something fleeting. I wonder what it was like for Kirchner to make this? What was he trying to get at, what feeling was he chasing? Was he after her likeness, or something deeper, something about her presence? The colours are so strange, yellow, red, orange, but it works, right? Look at how the blue chalk behind her head leans the whole thing forward. To me, it feels both anxious and tender. It makes me think of other expressionist painters, like Munch, all searching for ways to show what's happening on the inside. We can see a painter like Kirchner responding to what came before, trying to push painting into new territories. It’s a conversation that goes on and on.