Weibliches Gesicht (Woman's Face) [p. 106] 1914 - 1915

Max Beckmann made this sketch of a woman’s face, probably in one of his notebooks. You can see the faint lines where he’s felt around, trying to nail the shape of her face and hat. It’s just pencil on paper, but the way he’s drawn it, she’s got this real presence, like she’s right there in the room. I’m drawn to the lines around her nose, how they almost seem to vibrate. There is an intensity to the mark making and an honesty about it. It's a process of finding a likeness, rather than defining it. Beckmann's sketches remind me of Picasso's drawings; they both had a way of capturing the essence of a person with just a few simple lines, but there is something distinct about his approach. Both artists make visible the search, the movement, and the feeling of art making as a process. They remind us that art is a conversation, an ongoing exchange of ideas across time, embracing ambiguity and multiple interpretations.