Og pigen, som skulde give Dyrene Æde... 1928

Fritz Syberg made this drawing of a girl feeding animals, with ink on paper. The marks are quick and searching, like the artist is trying to capture a fleeting moment. I love how the hatching creates a sense of depth, but also flattens the image. Look at the way the lines around the figure and the building on the right become more dense, and darker, almost like a shadow is being cast. This reminds me of how abstract painters will build up layers of marks, erasures, and corrections to create a history of the painting process, and how this reveals a state of mind. There’s a similar vulnerability and intimacy to this drawing, like you’re right there with Syberg. It's a world away from the highly finished paintings he was also known for, and more aligned with artists like Paula Modersohn-Becker. You can see a similar interest in the everyday, and a similar directness of line.