Notre guide mongol Kumbo 1931

This portrait of Notre guide Mongol Kumbo was drawn by Alexandre Jacovleff in 1931. I’m really drawn to the textural variation he gets with his coloured pencils. The cross-hatching gives a real sense of depth. It's like Jacovleff is building up the image layer by layer, revealing the form through the accumulation of marks. I’m particularly interested in the way he renders the fabric of Kumbo's robe, those dark, diagonal strokes really give the impression of the way the cloth folds and drapes around his body. The way that the artist uses the colour and tone of the paper to create a sense of light and shadow adds a certain moodiness. There is also the secondary sketch in the upper right corner that seems to have a lighter and more direct approach. This more illustrative style reminds me of Egon Schiele's drawings, which are all about capturing a raw, visceral sense of the human form through line and gesture. It’s all part of this amazing, ongoing conversation between artists.