Prøveplade: Brudstykker af "de gode jomfruer" 1901

Frans Schwartz made this tiny etching called, 'Fragments of the Good Virgins'. You know, there’s something really beautiful about seeing the evidence of how something was made, like the cross-hatching here. The marks, like thoughts, build up to create this melancholy figure with her heavy, hanging hair. It reminds me that art is a process, not just a finished product. And look at the way Schwartz uses line to create depth and shadow, it’s all about the physicality of the medium. The lines vary in weight and direction, almost like a conversation he's having with the plate. Notice the area around the face, how it dissolves into shadow, a masterclass in suggestion. This reminds me a little of Käthe Kollwitz’s prints, with their raw emotion and social commentary. But maybe that's just me seeing connections where they may not exist. Art's about ambiguity, after all, not fixed meanings.