Tre kvinder ved en brønd. Portugal. 1911

Othon Friesz made this drawing of three women at a well in Portugal with ink on paper. I love how quickly he’s captured this scene. It's so simple, just black lines on white paper. He’s using these marks to evoke the bright sunlight and the weight of the water jugs, and the women’s bodies. Friesz is known for his Fauvist paintings with their bright colours and bold brushstrokes, and you can feel that energy in this drawing too. I imagine him sketching this on the spot, trying to distill everything down to its essence. The urgency of the lines, the sketchy quality... I bet he was trying to catch something fleeting. It reminds me of other artists like Matisse who were also exploring line and form in their drawings. It’s like they’re all in conversation, pushing each other to see what’s possible with just a few marks on a page. It is an invitation to see how much feeling and information can be conveyed through simplicity and suggestion.