Professor Jacobsen 1908 - 1909

Edvard Munch made this pencil drawing of Professor Jacobsen, and I can imagine him working fast, trying to catch the essence of the man. Look at the cross-hatching on the professor's chest – it's like Munch is trying to trap the light there, give him some weight, some presence. What was going through Munch's mind as he sketched? Was he thinking about the professor's ideas, his influence? Or was he just trying to capture the way the light hit his face, the way his mustache curled? Maybe he wanted to record how the Prof looked in that precise moment, as time goes by. The lines feel urgent, searching, like he's trying to get at something deeper than just a likeness. It's like when I’m painting, trying to figure out what it means, what it feels like, to be in a room, with a person, at that specific time.