Træstudie. Cassis. 1909

Curator: This is a tree study in Cassis, made in 1909 by Othon Friesz. It is an ink drawing, held here at the SMK. Editor: It feels almost brutally simple, stark. You can almost feel the harsh sun and dryness of the south of France coming off the page. Curator: Exactly, although rendered economically with just a few dark lines, this study does a superb job of capturing the harsh Mediterranean light in this landscape. Look at how he used the density of the ink lines to build form in the tree trunk versus the airy network he employs to define its canopy. Editor: I see how the darker lines do that, they really anchor the tree, give it weight. It reminds me that a seemingly simple line, a few carefully placed marks, can communicate the essence of a thing. There's a Zen quality about it actually. Curator: I think you're on to something there. This landscape, simplified in black and white, feels timeless, almost universal. Despite its seemingly straightforward nature, the composition of lines is masterfully considered; the movement in the brush strokes animates the barren tree branches, instilling the drawing with an emotional potency that one might easily overlook. Editor: Right, like that little smudge, the bit of a chaotic bush underneath almost to show something struggling to emerge beneath that parched-looking tree. Is that overly fanciful? Curator: Not at all, those marks and shadows play an essential role. The ground itself almost blends into the foliage as if life and death, persistence and fading away, are happening on different planes that the artist weaves together. Editor: So true. After looking closer, what I saw as "brutal" becomes quite tender in the light and shadow play between branches, earth, and scrub. Curator: Indeed. A testament to Friesz's ability to find nuance and beauty in simplicity.