Studie af knælende, foroverbøjet figur 1879 - 1910

This is a study of a kneeling figure by Oluf Hartmann, created with pencil and perhaps watercolour on paper. The drawing is dominated by an ambiguous form, rendered in a muted palette of blues and blacks. Hartmann's piece uses line and shadow to distort conventional figuration. The figure is hunched over, its form obscured by dense, scribbled lines that convey movement and conceal anatomical details. Patches of blue wash add depth, but also contribute to the overall sense of distortion. The lines intersect and overlap, creating a tension between representation and abstraction. The semiotic interplay between visibility and concealment raises questions about perception. Does it challenge fixed meanings, or engage with new ways of thinking about space, perception, and representation? Hartmann uses a non-naturalistic approach, emphasizing the materiality of the marks. By destabilizing established values of the human form, this study pushes the boundaries of representation.