A Student 1930

This etching, made in 1930 by Martin Petersen, depicts a student lost in thought, or maybe just lost. Look at how the lines create a moody atmosphere, a sense of the weight of all that studying. The texture here is all about those etched lines, thick and thin, close together or spread apart, and that’s how Petersen builds up the shadows and forms. Notice the contrast between the smooth, pale surface of the table and the dense, scribbly darkness of the student's coat. The whole scene feels kind of claustrophobic, like the student is trapped in this little room with all those books and papers. The way Petersen uses line to create this feeling of being overwhelmed reminds me of some of Käthe Kollwitz's prints, where she uses a similar kind of dense, expressive mark-making to convey powerful emotions. It’s like Petersen is saying that the life of the mind can be a messy, complicated, and sometimes overwhelming thing.