In den Dünen 1909

Max Liebermann made this drawing 'In den Dünen' using delicate pencil strokes to capture a sense of place. Liebermann's artmaking, like all artmaking, is a process of discovery. The paper is left bare, the marks are tentative and searching, as if Liebermann is figuring out the scene as he goes. It's all about texture here – the way the pencil catches on the paper, creating a subtle graininess that evokes the feel of sand. Look at the horizon line, how it wavers and breaks, suggesting the shifting nature of the dunes. Then notice the little figure walking on the beach, rendered with just a few quick strokes. They become a part of the landscape. It reminds me of some of the landscape drawings of Van Gogh, where the mark-making itself becomes a way of expressing emotion. Like Van Gogh, Liebermann’s art embraces the ambiguity of seeing, making this image more about feeling than fixed meaning.