Mme. Granberg 1903

Anders Zorn made this etching of Mme. Granberg in 1905. It’s all about lines really; hatched lines, cross-hatched lines, lines that build up to create darks and lights. The thing about lines is they create an image, but they also have this energy. Look at the way the lines around her face kind of vibrate, like she’s not just sitting there, but thinking, breathing. Zorn's marks are confident, economical. It's amazing how much information he conveys with so few strokes. The texture is implied, not labored over. The darkest area, her coat, is a dense, velvety mass of tiny, angled lines. Then notice how the lines around her left eye are so subtle, suggesting a gentle curve of the cheek. You see this kind of mark-making in other etchings, like those by Whistler. But Zorn has this casual, almost swaggering quality, a real confidence. It makes you think about how art’s a conversation, with artists riffing off each other, finding their own voice.