Prøveplade: Gammel kone med tørklæde, profil 1901

This tiny etching of an old woman with a headscarf was made by Frans Schwartz at an unknown date. It's a study, a ‘Prøveplade’, and you can really see Schwartz working through the process of image-making here. The whole piece is made up of these incredibly fine, almost frantic lines, hatching away to create tone and shadow. Look at the way he’s built up the area under her chin and around her eye, the density of the marks really give weight to the image. The lines that describe the headscarf are lighter, more delicate, giving it a sense of volume without feeling heavy. I think the overall effect is quite tender, don’t you? It reminds me a little of Paula Modersohn-Becker’s drawings, there’s a similar honesty in the mark-making, an attempt to capture something essential about the human condition. I love how art lets us have these conversations across time, sharing ideas and ways of seeing.