Drafts for metal relief 1904

Koloman Moser’s “Drafts for metal relief” is a drawing of a figure on paper, perhaps conjured from his imagination. I like to think he may have been sitting at a table with a pencil in hand, letting his mind drift. Look at how he has caged the figure within a rounded enclosure. What might it have been like to create the image? Is she dancing? How do you evoke movement with so few lines? It reminds me a little of Gustav Klimt’s work, the way it isolates a figure or form. The drawing has an unfinished quality, kind of casual, even. There is an ambiguity to the pose, but the artist has committed to the lines, and this tension gives the work its energy. It shows us how artists build upon the ideas of one another, constantly exchanging inspiration. Ultimately, art making is a conversation with our materials and with art history.