Standing female nude c. 1937 - 1938

Georg Kolbe made this drawing with charcoal on paper. I love the way Kolbe uses the charcoal, smudging and blending to create these soft, rounded forms. It's all about the process, isn't it? You can almost feel the artist's hand moving across the paper, coaxing the figure out of the shadows. Look how the charcoal is thick and dark in some areas, like around the curve of the calf muscle, and then almost disappears into the paper in others, creating a sense of light and air. It’s like the figure is emerging from a dream, all hazy and undefined. There's something very human and vulnerable about it. Reminds me of Rodin's drawings – that same interest in capturing the fleeting, imperfect beauty of the human form. And isn't that what art is all about, really? Embracing the mess, the ambiguity, the endless possibilities.