Elli Tompuri 1904

Albert Edelfelt made this drawing of Elli Tompuri with what looks like pencil, and maybe a bit of charcoal too. The magic of drawing is right here; how a web of lines can give you a real sense of the weight of a head resting on hands, or the softness of hair. Look at the way Edelfelt uses these hatching marks – they build up into shadows that describe the form, but they also retain a quality of openness. You can practically see the artist thinking through the image on the page. I love the way the dense hatching around the hands contrasts with the looser marks suggesting the chair. It’s almost as if the drawing is a conversation between certainty and uncertainty, between solid form and fleeting impression. It reminds me a bit of Rodin's drawings, where the figure emerges from a cloud of marks. It's that sense that a work of art doesn't have to be completely resolved to be powerful. It can be a space of possibility, a question rather than an answer.