Drawing for the primer_ Bird c. 1905

Hans Thoma made this drawing of a bird, probably with ink on paper, sometime between the late 19th and early 20th century. The drawing is all about the movement of the pen, isn't it? Look at the little hatching marks that make up the bird's feathers, and how they create a sense of texture and volume. There's a real energy in the way Thoma uses these marks, almost like he's trying to capture the feeling of the bird in flight. Notice how some marks are darker and more defined, while others are light and feathery, giving the drawing a sense of depth and atmosphere. It reminds me a bit of some of the drawings of Gustave Courbet, who also had a knack for capturing the raw energy of the natural world. But where Courbet was often interested in realism, Thoma seems more interested in capturing the feeling of flight, the wind beneath the wings. It’s this kind of ambiguity that makes art so endlessly fascinating.