Landscape c. early to mid 20th century

Marsden Hartley made this drawing using graphite, and what strikes me is the sheer energy of the marks. The strokes swarm and build, creating a sense of volume but also this vibrating surface. It's a real testament to the simple potential of mark making. Look at the way he uses these hatching marks to build up the form of the rock. The graphite almost shimmers. You can imagine his hand moving quickly, intuitively across the paper. There’s a real directness to it, an urgency even. It reminds me a little of Cézanne's landscapes, that same interest in structure and form, but here everything is more fluid, less fixed. I love that art can be about feeling and searching, rather than knowing. In the end, Hartley gives us a landscape that feels alive, not just a static representation, and that’s enough for me.