Alte Frau mit Jungen am Kaffeetisch c. 1917

Ernst Ludwig Kirchner made this drawing of an old woman and a young person at a cafe table using ink on paper. You know, the kind of drawing where the artist seems to be thinking out loud? The frenetic lines feel like he's chasing a thought, trying to pin it down, but maybe it's more about the process of looking itself. Notice how the ink is applied in a flurry of quick strokes, almost like shorthand. It's not really about capturing a likeness, but more about the energy between the figures, the atmosphere of the cafe. I keep coming back to the way the faces are rendered, these dark, hollowed-out eyes staring back at us. It reminds me of some of Picasso’s blue period works. Kirchner’s drawing isn’t just a picture; it’s a record of a moment, a feeling, a way of seeing. It’s like he’s saying, "Here, look at this with me, feel what I feel."