Bather 1912 - 1913

Ernst Ludwig Kirchner made this drawing, Bather, with crayon, and you can feel that in the marks. It’s kind of nice, right? I mean, the woman is right there, alive on the page, as Kirchner is deciding, inventing, what she might be. It feels very provisional, as if he’s thinking through line and colour; she emerges from the ground. Look at her arm for example: it extends to the left, looping around in the air, only to meet something indistinct on the right – is it a chair? Maybe Kirchner wasn’t sure, either! I love that the mauve pastel at the top and in her hair is off-kilter, like a painterly device that says, “I’m here too!”, reminding you of its status as a drawing. I feel like Kirchner is talking to me, and through this woman he’s showing me how he sees. I feel like saying back to him, "I see you too." It’s like we're all in dialogue, painters together across time.