Gerda 1912

Ernst Ludwig Kirchner made this drawing, "Gerda," with pencil, and it feels like he’s right there in the room, wrestling with the image. The lines are quick, angular, urgent – the kind you make when you're trying to capture something fleeting. I feel like I can sense him circling her, trying to get the measure of her face, her thoughts. What was it like to be Kirchner, drawing Gerda? Maybe he was captivated by her melancholic gaze. Or maybe he was just trying to understand how light falls on a face. He's part of a whole conversation, isn't he? Drawing, painting, making – it's all just talking to each other across time. The conversation is never over.