Starnberger See 1922

Henri Braakensiek made this drawing of the Starnberger See with graphite on paper in 1922. What strikes me first is the energy of the mark-making, like he’s trying to capture the essence of the lake in front of him. The waves are rendered with these bold, horizontal strokes that really convey the feeling of water in motion. And then you look at the shoreline, and it’s a completely different kind of mark, scratchy and dense. I love how he uses these contrasting textures to create a sense of depth and distance. There’s this one little cluster of trees on the right that almost looks like a scribble, but it totally works. It reminds me a bit of some of Guston's looser, more gestural drawings, where the process is really visible. It’s like Braakensiek is inviting us to see the world through his eyes, to feel the wind and the water and the weight of the landscape. It shows that art is not so much about the end result, as it is about the journey.