Cliffs 1917

František Drtikol made this drawing, Cliffs, with graphite on paper. It's pretty small, kind of intimate, like a sketchbook study. There’s a lot of atmospheric perspective here, with the dark, scribbled foreground fading to a softer, lighter background. I love the way he captures light reflecting on the water, with these delicate, broken lines. It feels so immediate, like he’s trying to capture a fleeting moment. The cliffs themselves are rendered with a mix of hard edges and soft shading, giving them a sense of weight and volume. Notice that one dark scribble on the water there, how that mark disrupts the regularity of the reflection and brings the whole scene to life, like a splash of cold water. Drtikol was known for his photography, especially his nudes, but this drawing reveals a different side of his artistic practice. It reminds me a little bit of some of the landscape drawings of Gustav Klimt, they share that same interest in capturing the raw beauty of nature with an expressive touch. It’s like a quiet conversation between artists across time and place.