Road in the Taunus c. 1916

Ernst Ludwig Kirchner made this drawing of a Road in the Taunus with graphite, and you can see how he’s really feeling the push and pull of the landscape, making the process visible. Look at the way he layers those lines, not really trying to hide anything, almost like he’s thinking out loud. The texture isn't about smoothness; it’s about the energy of the mark, thick and thin, like the speed of his hand across the paper. Those quick, scribbled lines create a sense of depth, like you could step right into the woods. Then you see this one dark patch, a concentration of lines like a shadow, it gives weight to the whole piece. I think of other artists who loved a visible mark like Cy Twombly, the way he let the process be the point. It’s not just about what you see, it’s about how you see it, like a conversation that never really ends.