Stående nøgen kvinde, set fra ryggen 1912

This sketch of a standing nude woman, seen from the back, was made with pencil on paper by J.A. Jerichau (II). The artist seems to have been feeling her way around the form, chasing the contours of the body, and laying down loose lines to try and capture a sense of its weight and volume. Look at the way the lines thicken and darken around the model's left hip and leg – it’s almost like the artist is pressing harder on the pencil there, trying to ground the figure. Then notice the lighter, more tentative marks used to suggest the curve of the spine and shoulders. These variations in pressure and tone give the drawing a real sense of depth and texture, pulling the figure out from the flatness of the page. For me, this approach echoes the work of Egon Schiele, who shared a similar interest in the expressive potential of line and the raw immediacy of the human form. It's like Jerichau is in conversation with Schiele, exploring their ideas, and contributing his own unique perspective. Art as an ongoing dialogue across time, right?