Badende Männer, einer Schilf tragend 1910

Ernst Ludwig Kirchner made this etching, "Bathing Men, One Carrying Reeds," which you can see at the Städel Museum, and what strikes me is the casual way he lets the line just kinda *be.* There's no attempt to hide the hand of the artist, right? I mean, you can almost feel the scratch of the needle on the plate. It's like he's saying, "Here it is, folks, the raw stuff of art." The figures are these spare, angular things, not exactly pretty, but honest. I especially like the way he suggests the reeds - just these quick, jabbing marks. It's almost like he's not trying to describe them, but to give you a sense of their texture, their wildness. It reminds me a bit of Matisse, that same love of line, that same willingness to let the process be visible. It's not about perfection, it's about the energy of the making. And honestly, that's what makes art so damn interesting.