Man with a Crucifix 1924

Robert Austin created this moving drawing of a man with a crucifix. It seems to me that the initial marks are quietly searching, finding their way around the subject. There’s something so vulnerable about seeing those first marks, the underlying geometry, like the artist is sharing his thinking out loud. It must have been difficult to convey such a wealth of emotions with simple pencil lines on paper. I imagine Austin felt a deep sense of empathy for his subject, wrestling with faith and doubt. The weight of the cross seems to bear down on the man, yet there’s also a sense of resilience in his posture, don’t you think? Austin is part of a long conversation that stretches back centuries. Each artist responds to what came before, adding their voice to the chorus. Painting invites us to embrace uncertainty, to find meaning in the ambiguous, and to recognize that there’s always more than one way to see the world.