Coquette 1921

Ernst Oppler made this print, Coquette, with etching on paper. I can imagine him bent over the plate, carefully biting lines into the metal with acid. What's so striking is the figure's gesture, arms outstretched, as if greeting the world, or maybe just about to curtsy. You can imagine that Oppler felt like that sometimes. There's something so tender and fragile about the marks—the way they capture the dancer's movement and lightness, but with a quiet restraint. You sense Oppler searching for the right line, letting the image emerge slowly. You can feel him searching for a place for it to land. It makes me think about Degas and Toulouse-Lautrec, other artists who were drawn to the stage. I think about how we, as artists, are all in dialogue, borrowing and building on each other's ideas. It is a form of conversation across time. Each artwork an invitation to imagine new possibilities.