Porträt Arthur Schnitzler 1906

Aura Hertwig's portrait of Arthur Schnitzler feels as though it's made with charcoal or ink, where tone and form are developed through a process of building marks on the surface of the paper. There's an immediacy here that captures something of Schnitzler's essence, as if caught in a moment of contemplation. The image is built up from these tiny particles, granular in their distribution, each dot and dash contributing to the overall impression of texture and depth. Look at how the light catches the side of his face and the way the darkness seems to engulf the background. There’s a fluidity and openness, that reminds me of the work of Käthe Kollwitz, where the gestural energy of mark-making becomes a way to convey both the physical likeness and the inner world of the subject. Art is, after all, just a series of decisions, captured on a surface for us to ponder.