Opstilling 1916 - 1920

Harald Giersing made this sketch called "Opstilling" sometime in the early 20th century. With a few pencil strokes on paper, objects come into being - onions, leeks, a bowl. The artist moves across the surface, figuring it out stroke by stroke. I can imagine Giersing's hand moving, searching, and trying out each mark, building up the forms like a sculptor adding clay. Look at the hatching and cross-hatching within the bowl and onion. There’s a real urgency in these marks, aren't they great? He goes straight for it, trying to pin down the essence of each object, its weight, its texture, its place in space. And in a way, that's what painting is all about, isn’t it? It's about that conversation between the artist, the materials, and the subject, all working together to bring something new into the world. It’s like Giersing is telling us, hey, look at this stuff, really look at it!