Stående kvindelig model set skråt bagfra 1881 - 1927

Harald Giersing made this pencil drawing, “Standing Female Model, Seen Diagonally From Behind,” sometime in the early 20th century. It’s a study in the process, really, immediate and direct. I love how Giersing uses the pencil, those light, searching lines, like he's feeling his way around the form. There’s a real tenderness in the way he captures the curve of her back. The color of the paper too, that warm, earthy tone, adds to the intimacy. Look at the leg that’s raised, the subtle shifts in pressure that describe the calf muscle and the delicate ankle. It's so economical, each line doing double duty. It reminds me a little of Matisse, that same effortless simplicity and deceptive ease. It’s like he's saying, "Here, look at this, isn't it beautiful?" And it is, but the beauty comes from the looking, the act of drawing itself, the conversation between the artist and the model.