Summer 1907

Anders Zorn made this etching, called Summer, sometime in his lifetime. What really grabs me about this piece is the way Zorn uses line – it's all about suggestion, not definition. Look at the way he renders the figure; a flurry of etched lines give shape to her form, yet it’s not about perfect anatomical precision. The lines are scratchy, alive, and full of movement. You can almost feel the breeze rustling through the trees behind her. There’s a real freedom in the mark-making here, a kind of looseness that I find so appealing. Zorn reminds me of Whistler, but with a bit more dirt under his fingernails, the kind of artist who isn’t afraid to get his hands dirty in the process. For me, this etching feels more like a moment, a fleeting impression, than a carefully constructed scene. And isn’t that what summer’s all about?