Woman and Child 1920

This drawing of a "Woman and Child" was made by Max Pechstein using pencil and watercolour, and it’s all about the power of suggestion. The lines are raw, almost awkward, but that’s where the magic happens. Pechstein seems to be thinking aloud, working out his ideas right on the surface. The colors are understated, like whispers of blues and browns, that hint at the deeper emotional tones. I can feel the artist wrestling with something real – maybe the weight of family, or the simple act of bearing witness. I wonder if he struggled to get the faces just right? Did he rub them out a bunch of times and start again? It feels like a quiet conversation between the artist, his materials, and the world around him. Like he's trying to catch something fleeting, and that’s the beauty of it.