Skogen 1908

Edvard Munch made this drawing, Skogen, with crayon on paper, and it feels like a raw, unedited thought, doesn't it? Look at how the crayon scratches across the surface. It's like he's wrestling with the image, trying to pin it down. The texture is rough, immediate. The lines aren't precious. They're searching, hesitant, building up to something. There's a looseness, a vulnerability in the way he renders the trees and the figures. The dark, smudgy shadows contrast with the white of the paper, creating a sense of depth and mystery. See the way the trees seem to droop or weep down over the couple? It’s heavy with emotion. It reminds me of some of Paula Modersohn-Becker's early landscapes, where she's similarly grappling with form and feeling. Like her, Munch isn't interested in pretty scenery. He wants to get at something deeper, something more unsettling about our place in nature. It's a conversation, a back-and-forth, between the artist and the world.