Standing draped figure 1913

Ferdinand Hodler made this drawing of a standing draped figure using pencil on paper. You can see the grid underneath—it looks like a mathematical underpinning, yet the sketch wavers on top, not quite obeying those straight lines. I think Hodler is trying to figure something out here, but is not being dogmatic. He is letting the process guide him, in an improvisational dance. Look at the way he renders the fabric around the legs, with its long lines. And then look how he articulates the face, more densely worked, more emphatic, and more present. I wonder if Hodler was thinking about the symbolist painters. It feels like he was participating in a larger conversation about form, expression, and how to evoke emotion through the human figure. You can almost feel him thinking, and sketching, and thinking again. It's a beautiful thing.