Palme ved havet 1916

This is "Palme ved havet", or "Palm Tree by the Sea" by J.A. Jerichau, made sometime between 1890 and 1916. It's an etching, so we see the world through a network of tightly woven lines. The whole image feels like a quick sketch, not labored over, but full of immediacy. The surface is alive with these scratches, like a swarm of tiny thoughts made visible. Look at the cross-hatching in the palm fronds and how it creates a sense of depth and shadow. There's a rawness to the mark-making, an honesty about the process. It makes me think of outsider art, or maybe even some of Cy Twombly's more gestural drawings. The beauty of art is that it's never really finished. It's always in conversation with other works, other artists, and our own ever-changing interpretations.