Stående kvinde med håret nede. 1907 - 1908

Othon Friesz made this drawing of a standing woman with her hair down at an undetermined time and with an unknown medium, though it looks like blue ink. The single colour, this striking cobalt, suggests a sense of immediacy, as though Friesz was trying to get something down very quickly. The drawing has a real fluidity, a fantastic sense of rhythm. Look at how the artist uses a varying line weight to give the figure definition, and consider the ground beneath her feet made of the same quick marks. I’m intrigued by the mark making in the head and hair of the figure, which becomes almost abstract. Is it hair? Is it shading? In its open and fluid line, this drawing calls to mind the work of Matisse and his ability to suggest a great deal with just a few well-placed marks. It reminds us that art is about possibilities, not answers.