En samler 1909

Cilius Johannes Konrad Andersen made this etching, "A Collector," at the turn of the 20th century. Imagine Andersen, bent over the plate, layering line after line to describe this old man's face. The sparse detail makes me think about the act of looking, and how much our brains fill in. You know? This collector—maybe he's a hoarder—sits at his table, his face soft, nearly disappearing into the beard. I'm curious to know what Andersen was thinking when he made this—was he obsessed with rendering every detail, or trying to get to the essence of the man? I get the feeling of a quick sketch, like Andersen was trying to capture the feeling of the man as much as his likeness. It’s like what Guston said—you paint something, then you paint it again. You go back and forth until it looks like it just happened. That kind of "just happened" feeling is what makes art so alive, and Andersen, here, has totally pulled it off.