Hermann Bahr 1904

Koloman Moser made this sketch of Hermann Bahr with pencil on paper. The surface is pretty much empty, but the few marks that are there have a real clarity. The thing about a sketch is that it feels like you’re right there with the artist, watching the image come to life. I bet Moser was just trying to capture something essential about Hermann Bahr, maybe the way he held his head or the set of his jaw. He really catches the bulk of his beard! What I love about sketches is how they get to the point. It’s like a painter is thinking out loud, and you get to listen in. You can see the artist trying to work something out. It reminds me how much art is about process. The whole history of painting is artists looking at other artists, borrowing, stealing, and adding their own spin. It’s all one big conversation. And that’s how art keeps evolving.