Dodo and an Older Woman Reclining before a Mirror 1909

Ernst Ludwig Kirchner made this drawing of Dodo and an Older Woman Reclining before a Mirror with ink. The furious nature of the line feels restless, like the artist is trying to get something down quickly. It's all about immediacy. Some of the lines trail off to gossamer thin, like he's running out of ink, or maybe energy. Others are thick and decisive, really nailing the form. The drawing has an unfinished quality which leaves us room to fill in the gaps. I'm drawn to the woman on the right and the confident smirk on her face. The lines around her mouth seem to be saying something that the rest of the drawing only hints at. The drawings of Egon Schiele come to mind as I look at Kirchner's work, but while Schiele's have a tortured edge, Kirchner's feel more playful and dynamic. Both invite us into a world of raw expression, but they do it in their own distinctive voices.