Head of a Woman 1909

Ernst Ludwig Kirchner made this drawing, Head of a Woman, with crayon. The marks are soft and broken. He’s pushing the crayon into the paper in short, separate strokes, like he’s building up the image. It’s like he’s thinking through the color choices right there on the page. Look how the blue crayon almost vibrates against the red behind the woman’s head. The colors aren’t blended, they sit side-by-side making the image feel alive. The yellow on her face is like a mask, but it also makes her skin seem like it's glowing from within. See that little green line that traces the edge of her cheek? It’s like a question mark, like Kirchner is asking, "What else can I add?" It’s this experimentation that makes the drawing so engaging. You can see how Kirchner's work shares an attitude with that of Henri Matisse, who also used color to express emotion. It's like they’re both saying, let's see what happens if we push the boundaries of color and form.