Zusammengekrümmter weiblicher Rückenakt nach links, den Kopf gesenkt c. 1926

Georg Kolbe made this drawing of a huddled female nude, probably in the 1920s, with graphite on paper. The whole thing’s an exercise in tone, with these incredibly subtle shifts from light to dark. The strokes are tentative, like he’s feeling his way around the form, but also so confident in their placement. Look at the way he defines the curve of the back with a single, unbroken line – it’s both precise and gestural. I’m really drawn to the area where the head is bowed. There are these wild scribbles that almost obliterate the form, but somehow they convey so much about the weight and vulnerability of the figure. I’m thinking of other artists like Rodin and Schiele, who used a similar kind of raw, expressive line to capture the human body in all its messy, imperfect glory. It's like a conversation about how we see and feel, stretching across time.