Chrystus 1903

Leon Wyczółkowski made this drawing called ‘Chrystus’ and when I look at it, I think about making something out of dark marks, charcoal maybe, building up the image from shadows. There's something so moving in the way the figure emerges, almost hesitantly, from the ground. The artist probably stood in front of the cross and worked with simple tools; charcoal, pencil, and paper. It's almost like a dance between the artist's hand and what they see before them. The quick, gestural marks give it a sense of life. There's a tension, a push and pull, a struggle to capture something real. The muted colors, the grays and browns, create a somber mood, which fits the subject. Wyczółkowski clearly understood how to make something deeply felt and powerfully expressive. It reminds me that all artists are in constant conversation across time.