Three Women 1913

Ernst Ludwig Kirchner made this drawing, Three Women, using pencil on paper. Look at the urgency and the speed of the marks, like he's trying to capture a fleeting moment, or an emotion, before it disappears. The hatching and cross-hatching create a sense of depth and volume, but also a kind of restless energy, like the figures are vibrating. Notice how the lines build up to define the forms, but never quite settle, always remaining open and searching. The faces, with their sharp, angular features, have a mask-like quality, and the eyes are deep and shadowed. It makes me think of the way Egon Schiele drew faces, also with this searching line, and psychological intensity, but Kirchner's approach feels rawer, more immediate. This drawing is a reminder that art is not about capturing reality perfectly, but about expressing our own subjective experience of the world. It's about the process, the struggle, the search for meaning.