Frau mit Hut (Woman with a Hat) [p. 107] 1914 - 1915

Max Beckmann made this sketch of a ‘Woman with a Hat’ in pencil, probably in one of his many notebooks. Look at how Beckmann used these short, decisive lines to build up the form. You can see the process, can’t you? There's a real sense of immediacy here, like he was trying to capture something fleeting. The texture of the paper is visible, which gives the drawing a certain intimacy. Notice the shading around the eyes and cheek, it's like he's carving out the shape of her face with these quick strokes. Then there’s that hat! It's barely there, just a suggestion, but it gives the whole thing a certain flair. Beckmann was really interested in the psychology of his subjects, and you can see that here, even in this quick sketch. It’s there in the gaze of the woman, and the gesture of her hand, she’s very present! It reminds me a bit of some of Käthe Kollwitz’s drawings, with that same focus on human emotion. Art is a conversation, right?