Portrait of Max Reinhardt 1919

Oskar Kokoschka made this portrait of Max Reinhardt with lithographic crayon on paper. There's something so urgent about the marks, they feel almost like scratches digging into the surface. Looking closely, you can see how the lines build up around the eyes and mouth, creating deep shadows that suggest a kind of interiority, a weight of thought or emotion. The texture of the crayon gives the image a raw, almost unfinished quality, as if the artist was trying to capture something fleeting, something just beyond the surface. It reminds me of Egon Schiele's portraits, in that both share a similar intensity. The drawing offers a glimpse into a creative encounter, a moment of connection between artist and subject. It embraces the beauty of imperfection, and that's where its power lies.