Schlafendes Ehepaar 1936

Christian Rohlfs made this drawing of a sleeping couple with pencil and crayon. Look at how the artist has captured a moment of intimacy through these delicate green and pink lines. I love the vulnerability of this sketch. It feels like Rohlfs was trying to capture the quiet, internal world of sleep, the closeness of a couple nestled together. You can almost feel the slow, rhythmic breathing of the sleepers, their bodies relaxed and unguarded. The drawing is so tentative. The texture of the paper is visible, reminding us of the physical act of drawing itself, of the artist’s hand moving across the surface, carefully tracing the contours of the figures. I think Rohlfs is inviting us to consider the quiet moments of human connection, to appreciate the beauty and fragility of our shared existence. It’s just lovely.