En roende fisker. 1907 - 1910

Curator: Okay, next up we have Othon Friesz's drawing, "En roende fisker," which roughly translates to "A Rowing Fisherman," made sometime between 1907 and 1910. It's currently held at the SMK, the Statens Museum for Kunst. Editor: It looks brooding, doesn’t it? Somber even. I mean, look at those heavy, jagged lines surrounding this poor fisherman. Almost clawing at him! You immediately feel his isolation. Curator: Interesting. See, I look at it and am immediately struck by Friesz's use of contour lines to define form. There is such expressive brevity at play here. Note the swift, confident strokes outlining the figure and the background landscape. Editor: Oh, of course, the technique is masterful, but doesn’t the boldness contribute to that sense of anxiety? It is more than just looking closely at form; this is communicating the internal landscape of the subject! The way those dark, chaotic mountains mirror the fisherman's posture almost like the mountains are bending down to bear his troubles too. Curator: Possibly. But there's also a rhythmic quality to the lines themselves, wouldn't you agree? How they converge to create depth and volume. The abstraction isn't totally at the forefront; we can still sense his connection to classical artistic conventions. Editor: Yes, it hints at that, yet ultimately I see him trapped, both by skill and existential drama! Consider his averted gaze. I almost see shame, as the mountains press down on him, or is it quiet reflection? Oh! He's communing with something immense, isn't he? Curator: Or he’s simply trying to catch some fish. Look, he could just be a man trying to earn his bread rowing through waters under a typical sky. Editor: Oh you old formalist, you see what you want! What’s life without a little projection, huh? All in all, it is certainly a snapshot in time from Friesz here; to have made such a moving work from a quick drawing that's pretty cool! Curator: Well, even with differing opinions, there is always something insightful to pull from viewing such artworks and having dialogue.