Sich waschende Frau c. 1910

Ernst Ludwig Kirchner made this drawing of a woman washing, with what looks like graphite on paper. It's such an interesting and fleeting image, isn't it? I can almost feel Kirchner's hand moving quickly across the page. I imagine him in his studio, maybe he's taking a break from a larger painting, or just trying to capture a quick impression. I love the way the body is rendered with such simple lines, capturing the weight and volume of the figure with what looks like the bare minimum. I think the circle indicating the basin is so great. It’s like he wants to show us how an environment might shape the way a body moves within it. This reminds me a bit of other artists, like Matisse, who were also interested in line and form. There's something very honest and immediate about this drawing, as if we're seeing the artist's thought process unfold before our eyes. It’s through that constant conversation with other artists that we learn to see and create in new ways.