Sketch of a Woman Sitting by A Window 1927

Dorrit Black sketched this woman by a window, using pencil on paper. You can almost feel the rhythmic scratching of the graphite against the page. I wonder what Black was thinking about while she was making it, and what was it like to be that woman sitting there! The repeated marks create a kind of energy that seems to vibrate, and I can imagine Black almost dancing with her pencil in her hand. It feels intimate and quiet, like a stolen moment. The subtle shifts in pressure and tone bring depth to the figure in the chair, and the window, of course the source of so much painterly light. I admire how Black uses line to suggest not just form, but also the feeling of light filtering through a window. For me, the image is both a portrait of someone resting, and of Black's own inquisitive gaze, and the connection between the two. It makes me think about other artists like Agnes Martin who use repetition to make something minimal feel so incredibly rich. Isn’t it amazing how artists are constantly talking to each other through time?